Chris's Johto Journey
by UNinja12
Summary: Told from the perspective of Chris, a 16-year old boy, who is traveling the Johto Region. His goal? To collect all 8 badges and win the Silver Conference. Along the way, he'll make many new friends and grow from a rookie trainer into a formidable force to be reckoned with or so he hopes. (The first of many regions he will travel to. Rated T for some action and violence)
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokémon.

**AN:** This is a rewrite of the original Chapter 1; some things don't match up with Chapters 2 and 3, but they will be rewritten in due time. Enjoy! Hopefully, everyone sees this as an improvement!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Beginning<strong>

I woke up to the rhythmic _BEEP BEEP BEEP _of my alarm clock. I reached through the dark, knocked over an empty glass of water, and turned on my bedside lamp. Stumbling and half-asleep, I managed to reach my alarm clock, which was located on the far end of my dresser, and I turned off the alarm.

A lot of people wonder why I don't just have my alarm clock right next to me, so that I can just reach over and turn it off. Well, I tell them, what's the use in that? Then you just stay in bed and fall back asleep after you've turned your alarm off. But my method gets you up and out of bed, at which point you lose a lot of that early-morning drowsiness that keeps you asleep.

I yawned loudly as I walked over to the lightswitch on my wall. It took me a moment to realize what day it was. _Wait a second, _I thought to myself. _Today's the day! Today I'm finally going to start my very own journey and challenge the Johto League! _

I looked back towards my bed, where a familiar, small brown ball of fur was sound asleep in his bed, snoring. Eevee. I walked over towards him and nudged him with my foot.

"Wake up, buddy," I said to him. "Today's the day!"

He looked up at me with his big, black eyes, which were only half-open at the time. It took him a moment, but I saw the realization dawn across his face. Eevee immediately perked up, letting out a loud, excited cry.

"_Eevee!"_

"Shh!" I whispered to him. "Mom and Dad are still sleeping!"

Eevee and I are both very, very close; we've spent many years together. I received Eevee as a birthday gift years ago; so far he's the best (and most expensive; he was bought from a _very_ reputable breeder located here in my hometown, Goldenrod City) gift I've ever received. I've spent as much time with Eevee as I have with my two best friends from trainer school━Frank Johnson and Luke Cain; we're nearly inseparable. In fact, we're so close, that I've even heard some of my dad's friends whispering that when I become a trainer one day, Eevee might actually evolve into an Espeon or Umbreon.

After hearing my dad's friends whispering that, I asked my dad about why it sounds so special to have your Eevee evolve into an Espeon or Umbreon. So, my Dad explained everything to me.

_You see, son, Espeon and Umbreon are very rare Pokémon to have. They only evolve from Eevee when the trainer and the Pokémon are very, very close with each other. The bond must be so strong, that almost nothing can break it. But, that's not all. The trainer must also have a good heart and be a kind person; or at least, that's what some people say. As such, Espeon and Umbreon are very rare Pokémon to see, and if one day Eevee evolves into one? Well, you'll have joined a very small, very exclusive club. _

* * *

><p>But first, let's take a step back. I'm Chris. Today, I begin my journey to collect all 8 Gym Badges of the Johto region, after which I hope to compete in the Silver Conference. Although, today I don't "technically" start. That's tomorrow━when I hopefully will arrive in New Bark Town to receive my starter Pokémon, from which point on I will begin my journey. Frank and Luke are going to begin today also. The three of us have spent years preparing for this day, enrolled in Trainer Academy, in order to get ourselves a quality education before we set out in the world.<p>

As you probably know, you can legally become a Pokémon trainer at age 10. Only a small percentage of children actually start their journey then, however. How long they wait, though, varies. Some kids start at age 12 or 13━that's fairly common. Others━like me, Frank, and Luke━enroll in a trainer school and get a quality education before we head out to start our journeys. Although it can be painstakingly boring waiting that long to start your journey, it's often seen as the best way to go. But, enough of my backstory.

* * *

><p>After shushing Eevee, we walked out into the kitchen to get breakfast. Eevee patiently sat in front of his food bowl while I poured him some of his Poké Food. When I finished up with that, I reached into the top cupboard and grabbed a box of my favorite cereal━Oran-Os, made with real Oran Berries.<p>

I set down my box of Oran-Os on the counter, and reached up for a bowl. Getting some Moo-Moo Milk out of the refrigerator, I poured myself a bowl of cereal. I missed a couple of Oran-Os, which Eevee enthusiastically ran over to eat up.

Carefully carrying my bowl over to the dining room table, I sat down. _Phew. Didn't spill a drop of milk!_

My Oran-Os didn't last five minutes; just like all the other food I eat. Gone in a flash. My mom always says, _Where's the fire, Chris?_

After putting my bowl in the sink, I walked over to the balcony to look outside. The sun had just peeked out over the horizon, and was shining in between the various buildings that make up the skyline of Goldenrod City. Eevee followed me, and I lifted him up and put him on my shoulder so that he could look out, too.

"It's really the day, buddy," I told him. "Either we become a statistic of failure, like so many have before us, or we become a name in the history books. Only we can decide that, Eevee."

I smiled smugly after making that mini-speech. The night before, when my nerves were keeping me awake, I had come up with that little speech. It seemed pretty good to me, and this had seemed like a pretty good moment to say it; so I had.

Bringing myself back to reality, I looked at the clock on the microwave. _Shoot!_ The time was already 6:30 AM.

"We have to get ready, Eevee! It's already been a half an hour! We can't miss the bus!" I yelled out as I sprinted back to my room.

I only had an hour to get ready, and I wanted to make sure I had as much time as possible to do that. Once in my room, I grabbed my solid-grey backpack and put it on the floor in the middle of my room.

Then I hurried over towards my dresser, pulling out my favorite t-shirt (a plain maroon-colored one, I'm a rather simple dresser) and my favorite pair of athletic shorts (pure black; once again, I don't dress exquisitely). A simple pair of short, black socks were good enough for me. My travel belt fit a little awkwardly onto my athletic shorts, but I made it work. It felt a little uncomfortable, but I needed someplace to store Poké Balls, so I put up with it. At the moment, though, the only Poké Ball on it was Eevee's.

Finally, I walked over to my closet and grabbed my favorite jacket: a dark gray, waterproof, hoodless jacket, with a golden-colored trim along the waist and a golden-colored collar. The two chest pockets were good places for supplies. I hesitated stuffing the jacket into my backpack, due to the warm weather, but figured I'd keep it on.

I grabbed the rest of my clothes and supplies, all neatly ordered into my backpack, and I started to exit my room to head to the dining room, where I could hear my parents eating their own breakfasts.

"_Eevee!"_

I turned around. "What is it, Eevee?"

Eevee jumped and ran into my closet, climbed the boxes along the floor, and grabbed my favorite hat off of the hook. He carried it in his mouth, and laid it in front of my feet.

"Oh my goodness. I almost forgot my _favorite_ hat! Thank you very much, Eevee!" I said as I picked up the hat, and put it on my head, covering up my short, blond hair. Eevee beamed with pride.

I said a hasty good-bye to my parents, as it was almost time for me to leave. My mom almost started crying, and asked me to call home on my Pokégear; to which my dad said, "Don't worry about it, son, go out and be independent!"

I walked out the door and into the hallway. For a moment, I just stood there.

_Wow. I'm _really _starting my journey today. This isn't a dream or anything. It's actually happening. Wow._

For a moment, I was overcome with nervousness, and I almost considered walking right back into our apartment and not going on my journey. But then, I thought of the prospect of meeting all kinds of people and Pokémon along the way, and winning the Silver Conference, and my nerves went away. In fact, I got so excited, that I even took the stairs instead of the elevator!

* * *

><p>Frank was already at the bus terminal when I got there. I recognized his messy blond hair from a mile away. He was looking a little impatient, though. I glanced at the clock on the wall, and noticed it was only a couple of minutes past our arranged meeting time. I also noticed Frank was alone.<p>

"Where's Luke?" I asked him. There was no concern creeping into my mind yet, but Luke was normally on time. Of _all_ the days to be late, he picks the day we start our journeys.

"I don't know," Frank replied. "He hasn't called me or anything. I thought you might━ "

At that moment, my Pokégear started ringing. I glanced down at it. The number was Luke's.

"Luke?" I said into the Pokégear as I answered the call.

"Hi, Chris," Luke said. Something sounded off━like some family member had just died or something. "Is Frank there, too?"

"Yeah," I replied. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

Luke took a moment to reply, and when he did, he sounded a little distraught, although he was holding himself together fairly well. "Put the Pokégear on speaker, please, Chris. There's something I need to tell _both_ of you guys."

_Uh-oh, _I thought. _This can't be good._

"I-I won't be starting my journey today," Luke said.

Frank and I both cried out in unison. "What?!"

"I-I might not even be going on a journey at all," Luke said.

Frank and I both exchanged very surprised looks. "What do you mean?!" I said.

"My-my mom got an opportunity to expand her business, and, I-I have to go help her with it," Luke said. I could hear his voice start to tremble, as if he was tearing up but was struggling to hold it in.

"We're moving, today, actually," he added. "So, I-I won't be able to-to go on our j-journey together. I'm sorry. I don't…," he paused, gathering himself. "I don't know if I'll be able to keep in touch with you two, either. This new job is going to keep both me and my mom very, very busy. Professor Elm is going to send me a Pokémon, since I've already paid, but, I'm going to be stuck in this job for a while. I'm really sorry, guys." Luke broke down, crying profusely.

"Stay calm, Luke," Frank said into my Pokégear. Thankfully, he was taking this better than I was. I found myself struggling to even get words into my mouth.

"If you can't start your journey today, then neither will we," Frank added, defiant.

"N-no," Luke argued. "You, you guys _have_ to go on your journeys. I'll...I'll be alright. I promise. Just, go and enjoy yourselves."

Frank started to argue again, but Luke cut him off. "Look, don't worry about me, it's fine. Really. Everything will be━"

There was a loud crash in the background, like boxes falling, and then I heard a woman shout something.

"I-I have to go, guys," Luke said, somehow finding the strength to keep a firm voice. "Just, enjoy your journeys. Have fun! Make new friends, meet all kinds of Pokémon, and just━"

Another loud crash reached the Pokégear's microphones, and once again, a woman was heard shouting.

"I really have to go, guys. I'll, I'll call you when I can. Bye!"

And with that, Luke hung up. For a moment, Frank and I stood there, speechless. Our best friend, who we'd known for years, who we'd talked with about our Pokémon journeys for years, who we'd been so close with, had just told us that he wasn't going to go on a journey. All those years of buildup and anticipation, gone. I hadn't expected to feel this deflated on the first day of my journey. I felt like a balloon that had just been popped with a needle.

Neither of us said a word until the bus drove up, and the loudspeakers made a call saying that the bus to New Bark Town was here.

"Well, this is our bus," I said to Frank. Slowly, he got up, but his head was hanging and he had a look of pure sadness on his face. I tried to cheer him up, but sadly, our bus ride was spent in silence. After a grueling overnight trip, we arrived in New Bark Town in the early morning. We immediately we walked to the laboratory of Professor Elm, where we were going to receive our first Pokémon.

"So, are you still planning on choosing Cyndaquil?" I asked Frank as we walked through New Bark Town.

Frank was intently staring down at the ground, but he answered. "Yep."

"That's a nice choice. Hopefully I can get one too. Maybe Professor Elm will have two."

Frank, Luke and I had talked about which starter we would choose since we were little kids. Both Frank and I had decided upon the Fire Mouse Pokémon, Cyndaquil; Luke liked the Leaf Pokémon, Chikorita. It was a tough choice for me between Cyndaquil and Chikorita (Totodile didn't interest me at all), and in the end I had sided with a Fire-type over a Grass-type. Since Frank was older than me (only by two days, though!), I promised him he'd get first pick. If the Professor didn't have two Cyndaquils, then a Chikorita wouldn't be terrible. But I wanted to at least see if it was _possible_ for me to get a Cyndaquil too.

"Well, this is it," I said to Frank as approached the laboratory. He was still down in the dumps about what had happened with Luke. Which was odd━usually he was trying to make me feel better about things, not the other way around.

I pulled open one of the double doors, and Frank and I walked to the front desk. A blonde-haired receptionist in a blue blouse was sitting behind a desk.

"Hi, we're here to receive starter Pokémon?" I asked her.

The receptionist looked up from her computer. "Ah, yes." She looked at Frank. "I'll just need some kind of an ID from both of you," she said as her voice trailed off.

I reached into my backpack and pulled out my trainer card. Frank did the same, and we handed both of our trainer cards to the receptionist. We'd only received them in the mail a week ago, and they still looked very new.

She looked back at her computer, put our trainer cards through a scanner, and handed them back to us. "If you'll follow me, please, I'll take you to the professor."

Standing up, the receptionist walked out from behind her desk and briskly began walking down the hallway, her heels _klicking_ and _klacking_ along the tile floor along the way. We passed several rooms, which contained what I assumed to be aides of Professor Elm's. One room contained an experiment involving two Gloom; from what I saw as we passed by the room, there were two different stones being placed in front of the Gloom. For what reason, I didn't know.

Finally, we reached a door that said _Professor Elm_ across the top. The receptionist knocked on the door, then opened it. She entered, and Frank and I followed. Inside, the room was similar to the other lab rooms, with counters along two opposing walls, and cabinets above them. The only difference from the other rooms was the untidiness of it; papers and folders were strewn about, as if a Donphan had just been rampaging through the room. I looked over at Frank, who was also taking in our surroundings. I noticed that most of the sadness on his face had been replaced with excitement and anticipation at receiving our starter Pokémon.

The professor looked up from his desk as we entered. "Ah, thank you, Brenda. These are the two boys that wanted their starter Pokémon?" he asked.

"Yes, professor. This is Chris━" she pointed to me, "━and Frank," she pointed to Frank.

"Thank you very much, Brenda. I can take it from here," Elm said.

"Thank you, professor," said the receptionist, whose name was apparently Brenda. She turned and left the room. Her heels continued to _klick_ and _klack_, until finally the sound disappeared.

"So, boys," Professor Elm said. "You're here to receive starter Pokémon. Well, give me a moment and I'll get out your choices…"

Elm got up out of his chair, and walked over to a cabinet. He reached up into it, searching for something. He knocked out three Poké Balls. Clumsily, he flailed his arms around to catch them, but every single one eluded his hands. Thankfully, however, the three Poké Balls landed on a pile of papers on the counter, appearing to be unscathed.

Frank and I shared surprised glances. I had to stifle a laugh. Is this really Johto's top professor?

The professor let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry about that, boys! Just give me a moment to check and make sure the Poké Balls are still alright…"

One at a time, he took each Poké Ball and thoroughly examined it, while Frank and I again exchanged glances.

"Good news, boys!" the professor said, a little louder than normal, causing Frank and I to both jump. "The Poké Balls are _not_ majorly damaged. That's good!"

I saw a concerned look wash over Frank's face, and I made the same face. The professor laughed.

"I'm just kidding! They're in tip-top shape. After all, your parents paid good money for you two to receive starters. And I have to keep up my good reputation!"

I let out a nervous laugh, hoping to diffuse the awkward situation. "Could we, uh, get our Pokémon now?"

"Oh, yes! Of course! Just give me a moment, again."

I rolled my eyes, and made eye contact with Frank. He tilted his head towards Professor Elm, whose back was to us as he messed around with a table-top, clearing off papers and muttering, "One more minute, boys," and "Just give me another second," every so often. Frank took his index finger and pointed it towards his temple, making a twirling motion. I translated that as nice as I could: _The professor's "eccentric"._

I laughed, and the professor turned around. "Hmm?" he asked.

"Nothing!" I responded, my voice higher than usual. Oblivious, Elm turned back around and continued clearing off the table.

I made eye contact with Frank again, and nodded, copying his earlier motion. We started to laugh again, but were interrupted by the professor.

"All ready!" he said, turning to us. He had an enormous grin on his face as he gestured to the few square feet of clean area in the entire room.

"Now, to show you the Pokémon!" he said. "First up, Chikorita, the Grass-type Pokémon!"

Elm reached towards one of the Poké Balls, this one with a small green leaf symbol above the central button. He pressed the button, releasing a Chikorita onto the table. It sat down and looked up at Frank and I, wondering who we were.

"So? What do you think?" said the professor.

"Let's see the next one," Frank said.

"Yeah," I concurred.

Next, Elm grabbed the Poké Ball with a blue drop of water above the button. "Next up, Totodile, the Water-type!"

The Big Jaw Pokémon appeared next to Chikorita. Again, Frank and I shook our heads, much to the disappointment of the Totodile.

"Well, there's only one left, boys. Cyndaquil, the Fire-type!" the professor said as he grabbed the last Poké Ball, which had a small flame above the button. The Fire Mouse Pokémon appeared in front of us.

Frank looked at me questioningly, and I nodded, albeit a little wistfully. Frank proceeded to step up, following our pre-approved plan.

"I'll take the Cyndaquil, if that's alright," Frank said. Cyndaquil turned to Chikorita and Totodile and smugly smiled at them, showing off that it had been chosen by a trainer.

"Sure, thing," the professor said, handing the Poké Ball to Frank. Cyndaquil jumped into his arms, smiling. Frank looked down at Cyndaquil, and smiled too.

The professor turned his gaze to me. "So, will you be choosing Chikorita or Totodile?"

I nervously scratched the back of my neck. I'd been preparing to ask this rather unusual question for some time, but I still found myself a little nervous to ask it.

"Is there, uh, any way that I could, you know, get a Cyndaquil too?" I asked nervously.

Professor Elm frowned. "Well, usually when trainers come in together, they just pick one of the remaining Pokémon."

"Oh," I said, unable to hide the dejection in my voice.

"But," the professor said. "There are times when I get a trainer asking me exactly what you just did. And the answer is, yes, you can."

My insides jumped for joy, and I was ecstatic. I was going to get my own Cyndaquil after all!

Professor Elm made a call on his phone, and within a couple of minutes one of his aides came into the room, holding a Poké Ball just like Frank's, with a small flame above the button. The aide handed the Poké Ball to the professor, and abruptly left the room.

Once the aide had left, Professor Elm handed me the Poké Ball. "It's yours. Take good care of it. You too," he said as he pointed to Frank.

For a moment, I stood motionless, staring at the Poké Ball in my hand. The first new friend of my journey was inside the Ball. I started to reach for the button to send Cyndaquil out when the Professor interrupted me.

"Oh, goodness!" he yelled out, looking down at his watch. "I have a video call with the rest of the Pokémon Preservation Council in five minutes! How could I have forgotten! You two, you have to leave, now! I have to get all of my papers together!"

He pulled out two Pokédexes from a drawer, and promptly handed them to us. Both device were identical; rectangular with a color mixed between orange and scarlet. I flipped open the cover, revealing two screens; data and pictures on the top screen, which doubled as the cover, and controls on the bottom, along with a list of all Pokémon that were native to the Johto region. The device had no buttons, except for volume and power buttons along the side. Other than those two buttons, it was completely touch-screen use only.

I started to say thank you to Professor Elm for giving us our Pokémon and the Pokédexes, but he closed the door before I could say anything, leaving Frank and I alone in the hallway.

I turned to Frank, and we locked eyes. I posed the nonverbal question: _What now?_ Frank just shrugged at me, before starting down the hallway back towards the lobby. I turned and followed him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> How did you like the rewrite? I think I greatly improved upon a few things, and I also made some things more realistic and I delayed some events for the next chapter. This is also over double the length of the original Chapter 1. Hope you enjoyed it! Chapter 2's and Chapter 3's rewrites will be posted as soon as I finish rewriting them.


	2. Chapter 2: Catching Chikorita

**Chapter 2: Catching Chikorita**

_Cherrygrove City_

"Man. The first new town we've encountered on our journey. Isn't it great?" I asked Frank as we walked through Cherrygrove City.

"Oh, most definitely. The first of many, right?" Frank replied. "Too bad there's not a Gym here, though, because I'm itching to get my first Gym badge."

"Yeah, well me and Espeon are going to get ours first," I teased. "Right, bud?"

"_Espee!_" He enthusiastically replied from my side, where he was walking. "_Espeon!_"

I spotted a park up ahead. "Why don't we take a quick rest at that park up there? Maybe we could even have a battle too."

"Eh, why not," Frank replied, "It'll be good practice for Dratini and I."

"Oh, so you'll be using Dratini. Well, I'll go with Espeon, then," I said as I started running to the park. "Race you there!"

"Wait a minute!" Frank yelled from behind as he started running too. "You got a head start!"

* * *

><p>We lined up in an open grassy area in the park. "You ready?" I yelled across the field to Frank.<p>

"Ready when you are!" He yelled back.

I looked down at Espeon. "We've got this, Espeon. He won't stand a chance since you've evolved. You're much stronger now." He ran out onto the field, brimming with confidence.

Frank sent out his Pokémon. "Let's go, Dratini!"

I beckoned to Frank. "You can have the first move, my friend."

"Alrighty, then. Dratini, Wrap!" He commanded.

"Dodge it, Espeon!" I yelled.

Espeon barely managed to jump into the air to avoid Dratini, who was quicker than he appeared. "Now, Swift!"

The stars homed in on Dratini as he attempted to escape them, making contact and creating a small explosion, temporarily stunning Dratini.

"Great work, Espeon," I yelled out to him as he landed. Dratini began to gather himself after the attack. "But we're not done yet!"

Frank noticed Dratini getting back up. "Come on, Dratini! You can do it! Dragon Rage!" A ball of energy began forming near Dratini's mouth, before being launched towards Espeon.

"Intercept with Psybeam!" I countered. This was a very risky move. Over the course of the last few days, I had worked very hard with Espeon to master his newfound Psychic powers, although he still hadn't perfected them.

The beam of psychic energy made it's way towards the Dragon Rage. As the two attacks neared each other, Psybeam began to fizzle out, until finally it was weak enough that the Dragon Rage broke right through it unobstructed, heading straight towards Espeon. He was hit right between the eyes with the Dragon Rage, knocking him out instantly.

"Espeon!" I cried out, running up to his sprawled out body.

"_Espee…_" He groaned.

I returned him to his Poké Ball. I noticed something peeking out of some bushes near us, but when I turned to see what it was, it disappeared._Probably just a wild Pokémon. Nothing too important,_ I thought. "Frank, I'm taking Espeon to a Pokémon Center. You want to come?"

"Sure," Frank replied, "Dratini could use a heal too."

* * *

><p>After Frank and I healed our Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, we decided to part ways for now. He went onwards towards Violet City, and I decided to hang around in Cherrygrove City for a little longer. I knew I'd see him again on my journey; plus I could call him at any time on my Pokégear.<p>

"Come on out, everyone!" I exclaimed as I sat down in the park, sending out Espeon, Cyndaquil, and Pidgey. It was the same park Frank and I had battled in before.

My Pokémon looked around expectantly for Frank. "He's moving on, guys, sorry. But we'll see him around again. Don't worry. In the meantime, however, I thought we could enjoy a picnic for a little bit. Plus, I figured you could use a little rest, Espeon, before we moved on again. That Dragon Rage hit you pretty hard."

I began to get out the picnic materials. _Blanket, check. Food, check. I guess that's everything, _I thought to myself. Then I saw something out of the side of my eye, peeking out of some bushes again. I was certain that it was the same Pokémon I had seen before._Man, why is this Pokémon following me? _I thought to myself.

I turned towards the direction it was hiding in. "You can come out," I yelled over to it, "We won't hurt you." Slowly, the Pokémon began creeping out of the bush. It was a Chikorita. I held out some food to it. "Want some?"

The Chikorita approached, still a little wary of us, and took the food. It quickly gobbled it down. That was when I noticed how thin it was. _If this Chikorita is wild, then it's amazing it's survived in the city like this, _I thought to myself. _The little thing must be starving._

"Here, take some more," I said as I offered it some more food. "Plenty to go around." The Chikorita gobbled up more food. It leaned in next to me and plopped down. I looked at my Pokémon and shrugged.

_This is a cute little Pok_émon, I thought. _It seems nice, too._ It began to poke its head at my hand. "You're just the cutest little thing, aren't you?" I asked. It nodded, and I gave it a little noogie, just like I do to all my Pokémon.

"We have to finish eating our lunch now." I told the Chikorita, gesturing to everyone else. "And I don't have any more food for you, or else my Pokémon will go hungry. I'm sorry."

The Chikorita looked a little dejected, but nodded in understanding. "You're welcome to stay, though." I quickly added, noting the downswing in its mood.

By the time we finished our meals, an hour had passed. Still, the Chikorita was with us. _I should probably take it to the Pok_émon Center, I thought to myself. _It could be somebody's Pokémon, and the Nurse's care would probably be good for it. Seems like its been living on the streets for a while._

I returned my Pokémon to their Poké Balls. "We're heading to the Pokémon Center, Chikorita." I told it, kneeling down to its level. "Would you like to come?"

Chikorita thought about it for a second, then agreed to go, jumping up into my arms like it wanted to be carried.

"Whoa!" I yelled out in surprise, thankfully catching it in my arms.

* * *

><p>"Nurse?" I asked at the front desk of the Pokémon Center. I set down Chikorita for the time being.<p>

A Nurse came out to the front desk. It was the same one that had helped Frank and I before. "Oh, you're back. What's up?"

"I just found this Chikorita out in the city. I know they don't usually live in cities, so I was just wondering if this was a trainer's?" I asked her.

She noticed Chikorita sitting on the ground next to me. "Oh, I remember this Chikorita. She was a trainer's. But her trainer abandoned her. What was her trainer's name?" The Nurse asked herself, thinking for a second. "It was Ramona, I think. She's on a journey, too, just like you and that other kid. His name was Frank, right?. Anyways, she left Chikorita here because she thought that she was too weak for her team. That was a couple of weeks ago; Chikorita's just been scrounging around the city since then. I've tried to get her to come into the Pokémon Center, but she's stayed away from most humans. Ramona really hurt her emotionally. I'm surprised she warmed up to you so quickly."

I looked down, and noticed Chikorita was rubbing against my leg. "Yeah, she just kind of followed me around today, at the park, and so I offered her some food. She seems perfectly fine though. Like, I'd have no idea she had been abandoned. Besides the fact that she was, you know, roaming the streets half-starved."

The Nurse looked down at Chikorita, than back up at me. "You're free to take her with you if you'd like. It seems like she'd love that." A bell rang in the back. "Look, I've got to get back to work. If you don't take that Chikorita with you, maybe try and get it to stay here, at the Pokémon Center. OK?" Then she turned and hurried into the back.

I looked down at Chikorita, who was still rubbing against my leg. _I can't turn her down. Can I? I mean, she's living on the streets, half-starved, _I thought. _Plus, she seems to really like me. I haven't seen her in battle though...but then again, battling isn't everything. Seems like she'd be a great addition to the team._

"Chikorita, do you want to come with me on my journey? I'm collecting all 8 Gym badges in Johto so that I can enter the Silver Conference. One day, I'll become a Pokémon Champion, and I'll be the strongest trainer that ever was! Or at least, that's my goal." I laughed and shrugged a little._Never hurt anyone to have dreams._

"_Cheeka!" _she replied excitedly, again jumping up into my arms. I set her down and pulled out a Poké Ball from my bag, tapping Chikorita on the head with it. She was encased in a red light and absorbed into the Poké Ball. It rocked a couple times in my hand, then stopped, emitting several stars.

"Well, looks like you're a part of the family now," I said to Chikorita's Poké Ball. "I think you'll come to enjoy it."


	3. Chapter 3: Tensions Rise

**Chapter 3: Tensions Rise**

"Wow. These stars are amazing. They're so clear. I haven't seen anything like this since━well, since forever. Goldenrod had too much light pollution," I said to Espeon. We were sitting on a hilltop, out in the wilderness on our way to Violet City, long having left Cherrygrove behind. We sat for a little longer, just gazing up at the stars. Espeon, having been given to me as a newborn Eevee, hadn't experienced this ever either. Even though we'd been on our journey for well over a week now, we'd never really taken the opportunity to just sit out and look at the stars like this.

I turned to look down at Espeon. "This is exactly why going on a journey is so amazing, and so alluring to so many," I told him. "It's the little things, like this. Sure, it's great to defeat Gym Leaders and other trainers, or win competitions. It's great to achieve fame and glory. But it's also the people that you meet, the memories that you make, and the moments like this, where everything━everything is just so beautiful."

I actually began to tear up a bit. "I mean, look at this. Vivid stars above us. A gentle breeze blowing across the hill. And the sounds of nature in the background. This━this is what's so great about going on a journey."

* * *

><p>Sadly, the beauty and harmony of nature that I had witnessed the night before didn't last very long. After letting my Pokémon out of their Poké Balls in the morning and giving them breakfast, I had gone to lie down in my sleeping bag, hoping to catch a few more minutes of rest before finally starting the day. Of course, it didn't work out that way. After only a couple of minutes, I began to hear yelling and shouting from my Pokémon. I opened my eyes, sitting up and quickly looking in the direction of the commotion for a cause.<p>

The ruckus was coming from Cyndaquil, who was sprinting towards his food, yelling along the way. As I stood up, I looked over in the direction of where he was yelling and saw Chikorita at his food bowl, quickly shoving as much of Cyndaquil's food into her mouth as she could. I noticed her bowl was empty. As Cyndaquil got closer, Chikorita bolted in the opposite direction. Before I could even process what was happening, Cyndaquil was chasing Chikorita around our little campsite, yelling at her the entire time. Chikorita finally realized she wasn't going to outrun Cyndaquil and ran over to me, hiding behind my legs. Cyndaquil tried in vain to get to her.

Finally, I stepped to play mediator. "Break it up, you two!" I yelled out at both of them. They stopped. "Cyndaquil, why don't you go with Espeon and Pidgey and take a walk to that rock over there," I said as I pointed to a large boulder about 50 yards away. "Just, take some time to cool down, and then _we'll_ talk." With that last phrase, I gave him a _you're not off the hook yet_ kind of look. He started to protest, but begrudgingly walked off towards the boulder, with Espeon and Pidgey joining him.

I turned just in time to see Chikorita trying to slink away. "And _you_!" I yelled to her. She froze, slowly turning around her head hung low. "Get over here." Slowly she walked over to me, her head still down.

I sighed. I didn't want to chew her out and make her feel isolated and alienated. After all, she was our newest team member. But on the other hand, I couldn't let her think that doing what she had done was OK.

After some deliberation, I began my lecture. "I don't like to do this, Chikorita. Play the bad cop, I mean. But I saw you take Cyndaquil's food," She still had her head down. "And that's not OK. Do you understand? Everyone has their own food. You can't just go around stealing everyone else's, OK?" Chikorita began to sniffle. "Come on now, Chikorita. Don't cry. You understand that what you did was wrong, don't you?" Still, Chikorita wouldn't lift her head.

"Chikorita, don't act like this," I told her, trying to get any kind of response at this point. "You're part of a team now; part of a family. You need to start acting like it." I tried to make myself sound as sincere as possible. After all, ever since I had brought her onto the team, she had been acting standoffish and had been isolating herself from the rest of the group. Up until this point, I had been trying to break down her emotional wall and get her to be friendlier with me and the other Pokémon. None of it made any sense to me; she had been the complete opposite the day I caught her.

My frustration with Chikorita finally boiled into anger and I found myself unable to control my actions. "Look!" I yelled, unable to control my tone. "I've been nothing but good to you! I took you off the streets, fed you, cared for you. I gave you a team, a home, a _family_. That's something you didn't have before! You were living _alone_, on the streets, because you were too _weak_ for some trainer. I could've done the same thing she did. I could've said 'Oh, this Chikorita's too weak, it doesn't have a place on my team. But no, I didn't. What did I do? I _took you in_. And _this_ is how you treat me and everyone else? By isolating yourself, becoming withdrawn, and now _stealing_ other Pokémon's food?"

At that last line, I stopped, closing my eyes. A wave of guilt rolled over me. 'Stealing other Pokémon's food'. I had just said that like it was a capital offense. But it's one of the most trivial things that Chikorita could've done. _Oh my goodness,_ I thought. _What am I doing? Why am I yelling at Chikorita like this? She doesn't deserve any of this_. I took a deep breath, ready to apologize to Chikorita. But when I opened my eyes, she was gone.

* * *

><p>Frantically, I searched around for her. She wasn't anywhere in the campsite. "Chikorita?"I yelled out. "Chikorita, where are you?"<p>

I walked to the forests' edge, calling Chikorita's name for several minutes. She never came. I sat down, trying to think of a proper course of action here. I figured that Chikorita had run off; I had been pretty harsh on her. Again, I felt guilty. I had never really tried to make her feel that welcome. I hadn't taken the necessary steps to make her feel at home with us. Sure, I hadn't had my other Pokémon very long, but they had all joined at relatively the same time, and had gotten along just fine anyways. Chikorita, on the other hand...she was like an outsider. I mentally chided myself for not working harder with her.

However, I didn't get very long to sit there with my thoughts, because a loud "_Cheeka!"_ rang through the woods. I instantly knew it was Chikorita━and that she was in trouble. I sprang to my feet, sprinting off into the woods. After running a couple hundred yards, I came to a short cliff wall, about 40 feet tall, and a clearing. In the clearing I saw a Nidoking glaring at Chikorita. Chikorita looked pretty beat up, as if she had been fighting with this Nidoking. The Nidoking himself looked fine except for the fact that he looked like he had just been woken up from a very good dream, and was about to smash whatever got in his way as revenge.

Chikorita cried out, searching for any kind of help. The Nidoking covered its ears from her shrill cry, then took one of his fists, punching the ground. A shock wave was sent through the ground towards Chikorita, launching her into the air. She slammed into the cliff face, falling to the ground, unconscious.

Once again, my instincts took over. "Chikorita!" I yelled out as I ran towards her. The Nidoking noticed me, turning and firing a Hyper Beam. I dove out of the way. Still in a half-panicked state, I got up and continued sprinting to Chikorita. After what felt like an eternity, I reached Chikorita, expecting another Hyper Beam to be on its way. When I looked back at the Nidoking, however, he was merely standing there watching us, as if he realized that we had no escape━which we didn't. I reached for a Poké Ball━and realized that all of my Pokémon were still at the campsite; and apparently hadn't heard Chikorita's cries. The Nidoking finally started to charge up another Hyper Beam. This one was to finish us. With no choice left, I covered Chikorita, who was still unconscious, with my body. My only hope was that I'd be able to protect her from the attack. I watched in horror, helpless, as the Nidoking fired.


	4. Chapter 4: The Facade is Broken

**Chapter 4: The Facade is Broken**

I braced for impact. As I ducked my head down, I heard a distinctive _THUD_ come from a few feet in front of me, but I paid no attention to it. After several seconds, I realized that I hadn't been hit by the Hyper Beam. I looked up and noticed a large, gray tail in my face. My eyes followed the tail up towards its body. It was a Pokémon; a Rhydon to be specific. And it was blocking the Nidoking's Hyper Beam with its arms, which were held up vertically in front of its body.

"Well, are you just going to sit there or are you going to move?" I heard a slightly sarcastic, slightly annoyed voice ask me. I looked to my right and noticed a young man who appeared to be only a couple of years older than me. He was standing calmly, although his arms crossed impatiently and he had a distinctive scowl on his face. He was wearing a white knit hat, despite the warm weather, which contrasted oddly with his jet black hair.

"My Rhydon can't block that Hyper Beam forever," the young man commented, distinct annoyance in his voice. I continued to stare at him for a moment, confused as to what was happening, until I noticed that the boy's Rhydon was getting pushed back, ever so slightly, by the force of the Hyper Beam.

I sprang into action. I grabbed Chikorita's unconscious body and rolled to my right. I had barely made it out of the way before the young man directed his Rhydon into action. The Rhydon stepped aside as the Hyper Beam blasted into the cliff face behind it, sending dust flying into the air It then furled its eyebrows, leering at the Nidoking. Temporarily taken aback by the Scary Face attack, Nidoking hesitated, confused.

"Now's our chance, Rhydon! Take Down!" the young man commanded. His Rhydon lumbered towards the Nidoking, who was still dealing with the effects of the Scary Face attack. Rhydon's body became outlined in a white light. As Rhydon neared its target, Nidoking snapped out of its daze, kneeling down and flipping Rhydon over it. Rhydon slammed into a tree, snapping the tree in half. Taking its opportunity to escape, the Nidoking ran off into the trees.

As Rhydon struggled to get up, the young man cursed under his breath, in obvious frustration at the skirmish's outcome. He returned his Rhydon to its Poké Ball, and began heading off in the direction that the Nidoking had disappeared in.

"Wait!" I yelled out to him as he neared the tree line. "Where are you going?"

The young man stopped and I heard him groan in annoyance. Without turning around, he answered my question. "It's none of your business."

"You're going after that Nidoking, aren't you?" I asked, putting together the fact that he was heading in the direction the Nidoking had escaped towards, and that fact that he had been frustrated that he had been defeated by it.

The young man sighed. "Yes."

For a moment, I couldn't help but be in awe at either his bravery, or his foolhardiness━I couldn't decide which. "Why?" I asked him, putting no effort towards masking my surprise.

Once again, the young man groaned. His tone came across as obviously annoyed. "Look, kid. I don't know if you noticed, but that Nidoking was _strong. _As in, _unnaturally _strong."

"First off, I'm not a kid," I replied, my tone rising in response to his attitude. "I'm 16. And secondly, what do you mean by '_unnaturally _strong'?"

He stopped, turning slowly. "Unnaturally strong. As in...someone _made _it that strong. Someone like..._Team Rocket_." He emphasized those last two words.

When the young man said those two words, chills were sent down my spine. Everyone in Johto knew who Team Rocket was. 3 years ago, they had run rampant in the neighboring Kanto region. More or less just thugs out for money, they bullied, harassed, and robbed innocent citizens. They even ran brutal experiments on Pokémon, putting them through excruciating pain, with the goal of making them into mindless, emotionless fighting machines. To Team Rocket, Pokémon were simply tools for business. Disgusting. Thankfully some trainer, known only by the anonymous name dubbed to him by the media, "Red", put an end to Team Rocket's tirade of tyranny.

Now, I had heard rumors of Team Rocket resurfacing, but this was the first actual instance to happen directly to me. In the time leading up to me starting my journey, there had been reports of Team Rocket sightings throughout the Johto region, but for the most part, nothing concrete. The police refused to believe Team Rocket had returned, and had denied the truthfulness of these reports multiple times. That was a few months ago, though. Since then, there'd been no news on Team Rocket. But that Nidoking...it _was_ unusually strong. And seeing a wild Pokémon, in this area, that was that strong...it did send up some red flags.

The young man shook me from my thoughts. "Hey, space cadet. You in there?" he asked sarcastically.

"I still can't believe you're going after that Nidoking. Why not call the authorities?" I asked him.

The young man actually managed a laugh. "The authorities wouldn't do anything. It's just a wild Pokémon, and it's not like it's rampaging through downtown Goldenrod City or something. This is rural Johto. And even if I told them it was Team Rocket's work, well━I've tried that. And nobody listens. The police just want to sweep the whole issue of Team Rocket under the rug; ignore it. After what happened in Kanto, after how a _teenaged boy_ did what an entire regional police force couldn't? Yeah. They don't want to get involved. They don't want to get embarrassed like Kanto's police force did."

I stood, silently, contemplating what the young man was saying. Noticing my silence, he continued. "And what if that Nidoking hurts somebody? You saw what it was going to do to you, had I not intervened." He paused for a moment, obvious anguish on his face. "I don't want to see anyone get hurt because of Team Rocket. Too many people got hurt last time Team Rocket ran rampant in Kanto. And I'm not about to let that happen again. I don't care what the rest of the region thinks, I know what's going on underneath this facade of utopia we have here━I know that action needs to be taken. And I'm not about to stand around and wait for someone to do the job for me."

The young man turned and began to walk off into the woods. His speech had risen my emotions to a fever pitch. "So you're going to fight an organization full of evil, heartless, and merciless criminals━by yourself?! One man against an army?! Do you realize how idiotic that sounds? You're digging your own grave, man."

He froze in his tracks. Whirling around, he stormed towards me. For a brief moment, I thought he was going to start beating me up. Instead, he fished into his pocket, the dark scowl still on his face, and pulled out a yellow-colored berry.

He handed me the berry. "Look, man. Take this Sitrus Berry. It'll help heal your Chikorita."

I looked at him, obviously surprised. This act of kindness completely contradicted everything he had said and done leading up to it. "Wow. Thanks, man. But━"

The young man cut me off. "Just take it," He said, his scowl becoming even darker. "And don't you ever, _ever_, tell me what to do, again. You don't know my life, you don't know who I am, and most of all, you don't know what I've been through." With the satisfaction that he had gotten his point across, he turned and left, his brisk pace signalling the finality of our conversation.

I had no idea what to think of this guy. First, he was a jerk. Then, he was nice. And to wrap things up, he was a jerk again. But before I could let him leave, there was one last thing I needed to say. "Wait! I'm Chris. Who are you?"

Without even stopping, he uttered one word. "Sebastian."

* * *

><p>As I neared our campsite, Pidgey, Espeon, and Cyndaquil came rushing towards me. The joy on their faces at seeing me return was wonderful, and actually managed to help calm me down a little after my harrowing encounter with Nidoking and that guy, Sebastian. Once they noticed Chikorita's unconscious body in my arms, however, their joy quickly turned to fear and distress.<p>

As I laid Chikorita down on my sleeping bag, I was surprised at how much my other Pokémon, especially Cyndaquil, came to her aid. After the morning's fight, I was surprised at how much Cyndaquil wanted to help. He went into my backpack and got out a potion for me, then fed Chikorita the Sitrus Berry while I patched up her wounds. Satisfied that she was fine for the time being, I decided to organize a small game.

I pulled out my Frisbee from my bag, and took Espeon and Pidgey away from Chikorita. Cyndaquil elected to stay and watch over her. "Alright, guys," I told Espeon and Pidgey. "This is a Frisbee. What I'm going to do is throw it as far as I can, and you guys are going to try and catch it."

Espeon and Pidgey looked at each other as if this was the easiest game they'd ever seen. "But there's a catch━you have to play fair and square. No attacks, nothing but your raw, natural ability. Got it?" They looked a little surprised, but decided they could both handle it.

Pidgey stepped up first. "Alrighty then, you ready?" I asked him. He nodded, showing signs of obvious confidence. "Well, then, here goes!"

I threw the Frisbee about 50 yards, catching a nice drift of wind. Pidgey took to the air, quickly closing in on the flying object. Right as he neared it, however, it ceased its forward movement and abruptly began coming back towards me. At his close proximity, and not used to the mechanics of flight unique to Frisbees, Pidgey was knocked square in the face by it. In his confusion, he lost the air under his wings. As he was dropping towards the ground quickly, I nearly had a heart attack until he caught himself, mere inches above the ground.

Pidgey flew over towards the Frisbee, which was now laying on the ground, picked it up, and brought it back to me. As he landed in front of me, I noticed he had a red mark on his face the size of the Frisbee. I struggled to keep a straight face. In between chuckles, I told him, "You see? Not as easy as it looks."

Noticing his embarrassment, as well as the fact that Espeon was chuckling alongside me, I consoled Pidgey. "Hey, don't worry about," I told him. "It was your first try. I can guarantee you Espeon won't do any better," I said as I teasingly elbowed Espeon.

Ceasing his chuckling, Espeon looked at me, taken aback. Eager to prove his abilities, he stepped up. I threw the Frisbee, and he took off after it. Having seen Pidgey's failure to catch the Frisbee, he took a slightly more cautious approach to catching the Frisbee. As he neared it, I noticed him pause for a brief moment, then jump to the left. For a split second, I wondered why he had done that; then the winds shifted, and the Frisbee sailed right into his awaiting mouth.

I stared in complete shock. Had he gotten lucky, or was there something to it? "Wait a second," I told Pidgey as I reached into my bag and pulled out my Pokédex. Scrolling to Espeon's data entry, I noticed something that stuck out to me: _Its fur is so sensitive, it can sense minute shifts in the air and predict the weather._

"You sly Vulpix, you," I told Espeon when he returned with the Frisbee. "You used your fur to sense when the wind was going to change, didn't you?"

Espeon gasped in surprise, then lowered his head, trying in vain to hold back a smile. I rubbed the top of his head. "It's OK, buddy, you just have a natural ability that gives you an advantage, that's all."

We played with the Frisbee for a while longer, until Chikorita woke up around midday. The potion and Sitrus Berry had done wonders, for now she was up and moving around, feeling little pain.

"Well, I guess it's time to continue onwards toward Violet City, then, right?" I said to all my Pokémon. Unanimously, they let out cries of approval. I packed up all my bags, and returned everyone to their Poké Balls. After my eventful morning, I really appreciated the calmness of the moment. And as I continued northward towards Violet City, I even found myself smiling.


	5. Chapter 5: On Our Way

**Chapter 5: On Our Way**

"Seems like a good place to take a rest," I muttered to myself, eyeing the surroundings.

After leaving the campsite around noon, I had continued onward to Violet City for several hours. At this point, however, it was already late afternoon

I stopped walking for a moment, setting down my backpack. The path had taken me out of the forest, and I now found myself skirting some small, relatively barren mountains. Up ahead, off of the path, there was a field of rocks, varying in size between about 2 and 3 feet tall.

"Well. Seems like a pretty decent target range if you ask me," I muttered to myself. "In that case, Espeon, come on out!"

I sent Espeon out, and my loyal Pokémon sat down in front of me, attentively awaiting my command. "Alright, Espeon. Here's the plan," I said, directing his attention to the rock field up ahead. "See those rocks over there? You'd say those are great targets, right?" Espeon nodded. "In that case, what do you say we have some Psybeam practice?"

Espeon looked up at me, his eyes full of concern and reluctance. Clearly he wasn't very confident in his abilities.

"Hey. Don't worry bud," I said as softly as I could, hoping to raise his spirits. "You can do it. I believe in you! We just need to practice. Now, come on, let's get some work done!"

Espeon hesitantly stepped up and fired a Psybeam at the nearest rock. The attack started off well enough, but ending up fizzling out before reaching the intended target. Espeon dropped his head and sighed.

I kneeled down and petted the top of his head. "You can't give up after your first try," I told him. "Do you think that all the Gym Leaders and all the past Champions gave up the first time they faced adversity? Nope. They persevered, and through hard work and lots of practice, they became great. And that's exactly what we're going to do. We're going to work hard and practice, practice, and practice, and then before you know it, you'll be the best Psybeamer in the entire Johto region!"

Espeon lifted his head. A faint smile grew crept onto his face as I said 'Psybeamer'.

"Now, let's try again," I told Espeon, noting his slight uptick in mood. "Psybeam!"

He fired another beam of psychic energy, with much more enthusiasm, but the same result happened the second time. It started off well enough, but fizzled out by the time it got to the rock.

Before Espeon could get down on himself again, I commanded another Psybeam. We kept practicing until I realized that the sun was getting dangerously low in the sky. Both Espeon and I were sweating and fatigued, but to no avail, as Espeon had yet to hit a single rock. Hoping not to overwork my Pokémon, I ended our practice session. Espeon dropped to the ground, not even bothering to hold himself up anymore. I followed suit.

As we both laid on the ground, exhausted, I tried to spin our session into a positive, despite the obvious lack of results. "Hey, you made progress today," I told him. "From the first Psybeam to the last, I saw improvement. The beam stayed together longer near the end. You were very close to hitting your target."

"_Espee…_" Espeon said, too tired to argue with me.

"And you worked hard the entire time; you didn't give up. That's probably the best thing we can pull out of this session. The fact that you didn't give up. Perseverance is key. Collecting all the Gym Badges and winning the Silver Conference isn't going to be easy, and we all need to be mentally strong for us to achieve that goal."

I struggled to get up, returning Espeon to his Poké Ball. I continued down the path, hoping to reach a Pokémon Center by nightfall. Thankfully, just as the sun was setting, I caught sight of one; the building was similar to the one in Cherrygrove, except that it was built out of wood instead of concrete.

I walked into the Pokémon Center and approached the front desk. I was happy for a nice, warm place to rest, and especially for Chikorita to get some proper care and rest after the morning's incident. A Nurse was sitting at the computer, apparently playing some kind of puzzle game, but when she noticed me she rolled her chair over. "Hello. How may I help you?" she asked, although her eyes were still on her computer screen, as if she thought her game was more important than me.

"Yes," I said. "Could I get my Pokémon healed up? Oh, and my Chikorita could use some extra care, probably. She got pretty banged up this morning, by a Nidoking."

At hearing of the Nidoking attack, the Nurse rolled her eyes. "A Nidoking? Again? If one more trainer comes in complaining about a Nidoking, I swear I'm going to..." The Nurse grumbled on about the Nidoking as I got lost in thought. It couldn't be a coincidence; she _had_ to be talking about the same Nidoking that attacked me. I realized that Sebastian had been right━that Nidoking was a threat, and it was looking more and more like it had been genetically engineered. The Nurse continued on about the Nidoking, and I couldn't tell if she was upset about the Nidoking as a threat to trainer safety, or as the cause of an increase in her workload...I hoped the former.

I considered the idea of going after the Nidoking for a moment, but then realized that I didn't even have a Gym Badge yet. It was beyond my current abilities.

I looked up from my thoughts, only to find the Nurse still grumbling on. "Excuse me, Nurse? Um, my Pokémon?" I asked her, wrangling her from her tangent about the Nidoking.

"Oh, yes, sorry about that, trainer," The Nurse offered as a half-hearted apology. She was quickly becoming the least favorite Nurse that I'd ever encountered. I handed her my Poké Balls and trainer card, and she quickly inputted my ID number, then hurriedly took the Poké Balls to the back, as if she couldn't wait to get back to her computer and finish her puzzle game.

"They let anyone become a Nurse these days, don't they…" I mumbled to myself as she dashed away.

As the Nurse returned, I brought up my second request. "Could I also get a room? I'd like to stay here overnight."

Again, the Nurse looked annoyed. She was increasingly getting on my bad side, but after my long day, I didn't want to start an argument with her. "Trainer card, _again_," she said, annoyed. _Sorry for being such a bother_, I thought. _Not like it's your _job _or anything_.

Thankfully I still had my trainer card out. The Nurse took it, and scanned the ID into her computer. She pulled out a small keycard, and handed it to me. She pointed down a hallway to the left, "Second door on the right," she told me, happy to finally be rid of me.

I walked to my room, scanned the card key, and opened the door. As I looked inside, I realized that this was my first time staying in a Pokémon Center. In Cherrygrove, the only other time I had had the opportunity, I had stayed with an old family friend instead.

I quickly found myself analyzing the room. I figured that the room I was staring at was more or less the standard of all Pokémon Centers. It was decently-sized, and was roughly square-shaped━but I wasn't complaining. It was fine for me. I noticed how compact and efficient the furniture was━there were 2 identical bunk beds along each wall, perpendicular to the door. Along the outer wall, in between the two bunk beds, was a small desk with a light but no computer, although I remembered seeing several computers in the lobby. Above the desk was a rectangular window, a little wider than the desk, and allowing a perfect view of the outside if you decided to sit down.

I plopped down in the chair at the desk, noticing that it was made of some very comfortable materials. "Well, guess I can read up on Violet City," I said to myself, pulling my Trainer's Guide out of my backpack. "Not much else to do."

I flipped to the section on Violet City. Much of what I read I recognized from either the Trainer Academy, or from keeping up with the news and watching TV. I skimmed through much of the section until I reached a part about the "Sprout Tower".

"Hmm. I don't remember this," I commented aloud as I read the section. "So there are sages inside...and a battling challenge...and if you complete the challenge, you get a reward. Definitely sounds like it's worth checking out!"

As I finished up reading about Violet City and Sprout Tower, I received an alert on my Pokégear. My Pokémon were all healed up and ready for pick-up. I got up, closing my Trainer's Guide, and headed back to the front desk. There was only a Chansey there, who happily handed me my Pokémon after a quick ID check. I noticed there were only 3 Poké Balls.

I started to phrase my question, hoping we would be able to communicate with each other. "Umm...You're keeping Chikorita overnight, aren't you? She was pretty badly injured." The Chansey nodded, letting out a small cry of approval.

"Alright, I'll pick her up in the morning, then?" Again, Chansey nodded. "In that case, I'll be heading back to my room now. Thank you very much."

I turned and walked away, relieved that the conversation had gone well. As I walked back to my room, ready to retire for the night, I passed the lobby and noticed a familiar face.

"Sebastian?" I asked, unable to contain my surprise.

He looked up from the couch he was sitting on. "Oh, it's _you_," he responded.

I resisted the urge to fire back a quick retort, instead focusing on starting a friendly conversation. "Did you catch that Nidoking?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, looking down towards his Pokédex, which he was reading.

"Nice job."

Silence fell between us. _Sebastian is definitely not a conversationalist_, I thought to myself. Nonetheless, I didn't want to get on bad terms with the guy (or at least make things any worse), so I decided to take the high road and not say anything rude, despite his snobbiness.

"Well, I've got to get back to my room," I said, forcing a fake smile as he looked up. "And, uh, thanks again for saving me and Chikorita this morning."

"Whatever."

I turned and continued on towards my room, wondering what was up with that guy.

* * *

><p><em>BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!<em>

"Ugh…" I groaned. I reached over, turning off the alarm and silencing the annoying beeping. "Do I have to get up," I muttered. "This bed is so comfy!"

After spending several nights in sleeping bags on the ground, I'd almost forgotten what a comfortable, good night's sleep felt like. Nonetheless, I managed to pull myself out of bed, struggling more against leaving the comfort of the bed than against any actual sleepiness or fatigue.

After getting dressed, I walked out to the front desk, where I picked up Chikorita after she had been left overnight. Still not battle-ready, I sent her out to eat breakfast with me and the other Pokémon; I noticed she looked better.

"How do you feel, Chikorita?" I asked her as I munched on a bowl of cereal at my room's desk. The Pokémon Center had thankfully had several breakfast options available for me.

"_Cheeka!_" she replied excitedly; I took that as suggesting that she was doing better. I also made sure to keep an eye on her. Even in her injured state, I wouldn't put it past her to try and steal someone's food.

While eating my cereal, I also wondered about Sebastian. A trainer as strong as him would be expected to be up near Blackthorn City and Mt. Silver. That's where all the strongest trainers were. However, I quickly dropped the subject as I packed up to leave for Violet City, instead trying to focus on my upcoming Gym battle there.

As I left, I returned the card key to the front desk, and noticed that it was the same Nurse as the night before. I received the same rude treatment, but I figured once I left the Pokémon Center, I would most likely (and hopefully) never see her again in my life, so I held my tongue, smiling and trying to keep as positive an attitude as I could with her. _Some people just can't be helped_, I thought to myself as I left the Pokémon Center.

* * *

><p>As I continued onward, I once again skirted the mountains. It was almost noon when I came to a cave with an old wooden sign, covered in dust. I blew off the dust, but the painted words were heavily eroded. "<em>Dcrl Cavc<em>" was the best I could make out.

"Dekrill Cavka?" I said aloud, trying my best to pronounce what was on the sign.

"That's Dark Cave, sonny!" said a voice behind me.

I probably jumped about ten feet in the air. I spun around so quickly I almost fell over, as one hand instinctively reached for a Poké Ball on my belt. I came face-to-face with a large, jolly-looking man, who was wearing a large backpack and a brown jacket with about a hundred pockets, and was holding a walking stick.

"Oh, calm down there. I won't hurt you!" the man said, and I noticed he had an odd, somewhat rural accent. "I'm Jethro, by the way. I hike these mountains all the time!"

Gingerly, I stuck out my hand. "I'm Chris," I said uncertainly. Jethro returned the handshake. "So this is Dark Cave?"

The man gave a big, hearty laugh. I had to admit, his jolliness made him seem less threatening, despite his large size. I found myself becoming more and comfortable with him with every passing moment. "You've got that right! Goes all the way to Blackthorn City and Route 45, if you know how to navigate it."

"Really," I said, remembering that Blackthorn City was where the eighth Gym Leader resided. "I've never heard of it. Why do they call it Dark Cave?"

"Well, sonny, you'll find that it's really dark in there. Like, _really _dark. Not a lot of people explore it for that very same reason. But you can find some pretty rare Pokémon in there, if you're lucky."

My brain went into overdrive. _Rare Pokémon_.

"You'd be best to have a Pokémon that knows Flash if you're going to explore it," the Hiker continued. "It's not _necessary_, but it just makes things easier, you see. Otherwise you might get lost."

I nodded. _Sounds like it'd be worth checking out. I mean, I do have a flashlight in my backpack,_ I noted. _And besides, I won't go far. Just a little bit. I don't want to get lost._

With my adrenaline rushing, I found that the prospect of excitement and adventure overwhelmed logic and reason. "Thanks for the information, Jethro!" I told the hiker, as I turned to enter the cave. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go explore the cave a little bit."

Jethro looked surprised. "Alrighty then, Chris. You be careful, though. Don't be afraid to back out, either. You don't want to get lost!"

"Don't worry about me! I'll be fine," I told him as I reached the entrance.

Saying our goodbyes, I entered the cave, my adrenaline rush slowing down as the darkness quickly engulfed me. I flicked on my flashlight. I walked for several minutes until I reached a crossroads of four different passageways. _I wonder which goes the farthest?_ I thought to myself. Remembering something I used to see on TV, I decided to see.

"Hello!" I yelled out four times, once in each direction. After listening to the echoes for each passageway (which also doubled as something fun to do), I deduced that the one to my left went the deepest. However, as I turned to enter it, I began to hear a loud sound, as if a hundred small wings were flapping at once, and a hundred voices were crying out. I squinted down the passageway, trying to locate the sound, realizing too late what it was.

I managed to duck down just as a large flock of Zubat flew over my head, haphazard and in every direction. Apparently, my echoes had sent them all into a panic. They flew wildly over my head, and one knocked my flashlight out of my hand as I attempted to cover my head. When it hit the ground, it broke instantly, instantly sucking all light out of the cave.

Once the Zubat had finally passed, I frantically searched for my broken flashlight. I managed to locate it after groping around in the dark for several minutes, but found it to have sustained a large dent and a broken bulb during the fall. It had landed on a rock.

"Shoot," I muttered to myself. "This isn't good. Not at all. Why couldn't it have just been a loose battery," I said as I sat down on the cave floor, leaning against the wall.

My excitement at searching for rare Pokémon faded as I began to panic. In the hysteria of the Zubat flock flying through, I had gotten turned around. I couldn't even retrace my steps to the entrance now. "How am I going to find my way out of here? I don't know which passage I came in through!" I cried out in exasperation.

I willed myself to stay calm, and after several deep breaths realized I could use Cyndaquil for light. He wouldn't be as good as a Pokémon with Flash, or even a flashlight, but at least he could light up a few square feet.

I sent out Cyndaquil, and heard him instantly panic in the dark. _If I wasn't in such a dire situation, I'd probably find this funny,_ I thought to myself. _A Pokémon that can make fire on its back is scared of the dark._

"Hey, Cyndaquil, it's me, Chris," I said into darkness, as gently as possible. "Can you light the flames on your back for me?"

I heard Cyndaquil's breathing slowly recede to normal levels as he heard my voice, and his flames lit up, illuminating a few square feet around him.

"Good," I told him. "Now follow my voice and come to me, but be careful."

Slowly, Cyndaquil followed my voice, eventually finding my outstretched legs, then the rest of my body, and he sat down next to me. I began to think aloud, trying to figure out how to solve our predicament. After what felt like an eternity of brainstorming (but was probably about ten minutes), the solution dawned on me. Espeon.

"Espeon, come on out!" I yelled as I sent him out. Although initially surprised and panicky due to his odd surroundings, he saw me and Cyndaquil and calmed down.

"Come here, Espeon," I said, gesturing for him to sit down in front of me. "Remember yesterday, how you used your fur to sense the winds and catch the Frisbee? I need you to do that again, except I need you to follow the wind and lead us out of this cave. There should be a slight breeze blowing in from the cave entrance. You need to follow it. Understand?"

Espeon looked at me, full seriousness and understanding in his eyes. He stood up silently, focusing, until he picked up a small breeze, which was unnoticable to me and Cyndaquil. He began walking in the direction the breeze was coming from.

Slowly and quietly, so as not to break his focus, Cyndaquil and I followed Espeon. Cyndaquil provided light for us as we stumbled through the cave. After what felt like an eternity, I saw light.

"Great work, Espeon!" I shouted as we ran out of the cave. I ran so fast that I smashed right into Jethro, who was standing just outside the cave's entrance.

Getting up off the ground, I looked up at Jethro. "What's up, sonny?" he asked, pure confusion on his face.

Excited to be out of the cave, I began talking so fast, I'm surprised Jethro didn't ask if I'd had any espressos today. "I━I got lost in there, Jethro! My flashlight, it broke. You see, there was this flock of Zubat! But Cyndaquil, he━he lit up the cave for us, and Espeon, oh boy, he was great! He led us out! He's the hero!"

"Alright, calm down there, sonny. Why don't you come eat lunch with me? A friend of mine just showed up." So, I followed Jethro over to a small campsite, where his friend was. I explained to his friend about my escapade in Dark Cave as we ate a small lunch. As we finished our meals, we parted ways.

"Thank you very much for the lunch, Jethro." I said to Jethro.

"And thank you for the company, Chris! Sometimes, old Bob over here gets a little 'boring', telling the same old exaggerated stories time and time again," Jethro joked as he let out a large, hearty laugh, elbowing his friend in the side.

"Well, they were all new to me, and it was pleasure listening to your stories, Bob. But, I've really got to get going now," I told the two as I began walking away. It was a shame parting ways with the two kind hikers, but I knew that I was close to my next destination. "I'm not too far off from Violet City, you see, and my first Gym battle. So, see ya! And good luck on your hike!"

The two waved as I left. "You too! And we'll make sure to root for you when you make it into the Silver Conference!"

Once they were out of sight, I ceased my waving and began to focus. "By nightfall, I should be in Violet City," I said to myself. "And with Violet City, comes my first Gym Badge."

With that in mind, I quickened my pace down the path, with nothing but green forests ahead of me as I continued onwards towards Violet City.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Just a quick little public service announcement━this is my longest chapter so far, at over 3,700 words, and will probably be the average length for my chapters from here on out. Hope you enjoyed!


	6. Chapter 6: Violet City at Last

**Chapter 6: Violet City at Last**

"Wow."

Laid out ahead of me was Violet City, its buildings beautifully lighting up the night sky.

Violet City was larger than I had expected it to be. It wasn't the metropolis that Goldenrod City was, but compared to the pictures I had seen before, its size surprised me. A sea of mid-rises, the city stretched out before me, nestled in a valley. In the northeastern corner was Sprout Tower, which was surrounded by a small lake.

As I wandered through the city, searching for the Pokémon Center, I found myself in awe at how the city managed to blend the old with the new. Although much of the city was built in older, more traditional architecture, there were also newer, modern-looking apartment and office buildings. Although they were two very different architectural styles, they didn't conflict with each other like is often the case. I couldn't wait to see what the city looked like during the day.

However, my time to study the city's architecture was cut short, as I spotted the Pokémon Center across the street. Hurrying inside, I ran to the front desk and got myself a room, only minutes before closing. On our way from Dark Cave, my Pokémon hadn't seen any action, so I figured they wouldn't need any healing; barring Chikorita, of course. I had the Nurse take her, and hopefully she would be back to full health by tomorrow. Either way, I didn't plan on using her in my Gym battle against Falkner. Grass vs Flying? No thanks.

As I laid down on one of the beds in my room, I found my mind racing. _Tomorrow's my first ever Gym battle...I'm so nervous! What if I mess up? What if my Pokémon aren't good enough?_

I found myself unable to fall asleep for a painstakingly long amount of time, until finally I woke up to find sun shining through the window in my room.

I instantly jumped up and out of bed. Looking around, I noticed that my Pokémon were already wide awake. I looked at the clock: 10:00 AM. I had slept in.

As quickly as I could, I packed up my things, got dressed, and grabbed breakfast from the cafeteria. Unlike the small Pokémon Center on Route 31, this one was built for an urban area, and thus had a large cafeteria that I estimated could fit at least a hundred trainers; it had just as many lodging rooms, too. The one advantage of sleeping in, though, was that I didn't have to wait very long to grab breakfast━most of the people were already gone.

With a bagel in one hand, and my Pokégear in the other, I hurried out of the Pokémon Center. I managed to find the Gym complex within only fifteen minutes thanks to my Pokégear's map; but it took me another five to build up the confidence to enter.

"You can do this," I told myself, taking several deep breaths. "You've only been on your journey for what, two weeks, and you've already faced more terrifying things than this Gym," I muttered, remembering the incident with the wild Nidoking. "You'll be fine."

I finally managed to build up enough confidence to walk through the front doors, but when I walked in, someone else walked out. We collided, and both of us were knocked to the ground.

"What the━" I heard a male voice exclaim from in front of me. I tried to focus on the person through my spinning head. It was a teenaged boy, similar build to me, although a little bit shorter. He had the same blonde hair as me, and looked just like I had remembered him to be.

"Frank?!" I yelled out, unable to mask my surprise.

"No way," he responded, the realization of whom he had run into entering his mind. "Chris! What's up, man?"

I got up, still a little shaky from the collision, and helped Frank up. "I was just about to challenge the Gym here. I take it you already did?"

Frank beamed. "You bet I did!"

He took off his backpack, reached inside of it and pulled out a small, metal case, similar to the one I have. He opened it, revealing a small badge that was shaped like a pair of wings. "And guess who won?"

"Wow. Great job, man," I said, patting him on the back, a tad jealous that he had gotten the badge before me. "You know what? You should stay for my battle, too. I mean, you're already here anyways."

Frank thought about it for a moment, then a smile crept onto his face. "Eh, why not. I guess I can stay and watch your battle."

"And watch you lose," he added, elbowing me in the side.

I led the way into the building, with Frank directing me towards the receptionist.

"Hi. I"m here to challenge Falkner?" I asked her, nervousness creeping into my voice. At that moment, it fully dawned on me that I was about to have my first Gym battle.

She turned away to say something into her headset, waited a moment for a reply, and then turned back to us. "Good news. He's available, and ready for you right now, if you'd like. Do you know how to get to the battlefield?"

I looked at Frank, who nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you anyways," I said as we turned around and left. It took all of my willpower to keep myself from visibly shaking as we walked away.

Frank pointed me in the direction of an elevator. We passed a small training room, and what appeared to be dorms for trainers of the Gym. I even noticed a couple of trainers having a practice battle in one of the side gymnasiums.

Frank and I entered the elevator, which only had one button: "Roof". I pointed to the button and looked over at Frank. He nodded, understanding my silent question. Shakily, I pressed the button, and we began ascending several stories.

As the elevator rose, I found my nerves only increasing in tenacity. Noticing my nervousness, Frank tried to console me. "You'll do fine, man," he said, giving me one last pat on the back as the doors opened. After taking a moment to gather myself, I stepped out of the elevator.

Sprawled out in front of me was a battlefield with bleachers surrounding it. I looked up, and noticed that there was no roof━I mentally praised myself for not picking a rainy day to challenge the Gym. Surrounding the Gym were the rooftops of the apartments and offices I had seen surrounding the town. We had to be at least 10 stories up, I guessed.

The battlefield itself was a dirt field, shaped like a large rectangle and outlined with white paint. It was broken up into two halves, with a small circle in the middle that roughly resembled a Poké Ball. On either side, two small boxes protruded, which were where each trainer stood during battle. The field was exactly like the standard Pokémon League fields I'd seen many times on TV at the Silver Conference tournament and during other notable battles.

I heard someone cough from my right. Looking over, I noticed a young man with shaggy, dark blue hair, and a light blue, short-sleeved jacket along with blue shorts. Nervously, I realized that it was the Gym Leader, Falkner. I'd seen his headshot in my Trainer's Guide. We hadn't covered him during my enrollment in the Trainer Academy; he was a relatively new Gym Leader. The Trainer's Guide had mentioned that he'd only been Gym Leader here for a few months.

Despite my anxiousness, I found myself jokingly wondering if he'd accidentally put a blue sock in the wash machine with white clothes, and his current wardrobe was the result.

"You're the challenger, I presume?" he asked, as he got up and began to walk towards the battlefield from the bleachers he had been sitting in.

I started to speak, and found my voice cracking. After all, it was the first time I had been in the presence of a Gym Leader. "Y-Yes, I a-am. Chr-is."

A momentary silence fell between us. I could tell that he was sizing me up, calculating what Pokémon I had and what my probable skill level was. If you ever asked, I'd be the first one to admit that I'm not the most intimidating trainer in the entire Johto region.

Falkner grunted, apparently coming to the conclusion that I wouldn't be much of a challenge. "I'm Falkner, the Violet City Gym Leader. As you probably know, I specialize in Flying-type Pokémon. No doubt, you will quickly find that they will provide you with a great challenge. Head over to the box on the other side of the field, and we can start this battle."

As I reached my box, a man in a blue, long-sleeved shirt with a Poké Ball emblem on his heart got up from the bleachers near Falkner. For whatever reason, I hadn't noticed him sitting there before.

"This will be a 2-on-2 match!" he said to both of us. "I will be the judge of this battle, and the battle will be over when both of either competitor's Pokémon are unable to battle."

"As the Gym Leader, I'll send out my Pokémon first. Then you can counter with yours," said Falkner.

He reached into his jacket, pulling out a Poké Ball and throwing it. "Pidgeotto, go!"

"A Pidgeotto," I commented thoughtfully. However, Falkner's choice didn't change my strategy. I already knew who my first Pokémon would be.

But for a brief moment, I paused, the full reality of my situation finally becoming apparent to me. Despite my best efforts to fight them, my nerves popped up again. I urged myself to stay strong, and stay confident━otherwise I wouldn't last two minutes in this battle.

After taking a deep breath, I pulled a Poké Ball off my belt, staring at it for a moment. "My first Pokémon. Espeon, go!"

He materialized on the battlefield in front of me, letting out a confident cry in the direction of Falkner's Pidgeotto. In return, Falkner's Pidgeotto cried back, defiantly.

"Good luck, Chris!" Frank yelled from the bleachers.

Falkner commented on my choice of Pokémon. "Hmm. An Espeon. Not the most common Pokémon to see. But regardless, it's your move, Chris."

I found myself shaking slightly as I concocted a rough plan. I figured my best chance to win would be to gain and keep the momentum of the battle as quickly as possible. With that goal in mind, I made my first move.

"Espeon, Quick Attack!" I commanded, my voice shaking ever so slightly.

Espeon began sprinting towards Pidgeotto, his body becoming outlined in white. He was traveling so fast that he began to leave a white trail.

"Take to the skies, Pidgeotto!" Falkner commanded calmly. Although he was a relatively inexperienced Gym Leader, he seemed to radiate calmness and authority.

As Espeon closed in on Pidgeotto, Pidgeotto flew up.

"Follow it, Espeon!" I commanded, making the first in-the-moment decision of my Pokémon battling career.

Espeon gracefully leaped into the air to follow, but Pidgeotto simply rose even higher, and Espeon missed. In horror, I watched him come crashing down to the ground, unmoving.

For a moment, I stood in shock at what had happened. Sure, I hadn't expected this battle to be easy, but I hadn't expected something like Espeon missing his attack _that_ badly. For several seconds, my nerves got the best of me, and I stood, frozen.

Breaking the silence, I heard Frank yell out, "Come on, Espeon! Get up!"

Slowly, Espeon rose to the ground, doing his best to shake off the damage he had taken from the impact of the fall. He was now on the far end of the field, in front of Falkner. He looked across the battlefield at me for direction. Again, I found myself unable to formulate a command, freezing up.

Seizing on my indecisiveness, Falkner took command. "Now, Pidgeotto! Gust!"

Falkner's Pidgeotto began whipping its wings, creating a windstorm that nearly had enough strength to lift Espeon into the air instantly. Gritting his teeth, Espeon did his best to hold his ground, his paws digging into the ground.

"H-Hang in there, Espeon!" I managed to yell out, frantically trying to figure out what to do. As I struggled to come up with some kind of a plan, Espeon kept losing ground. Finally, my indecisiveness cost me, and Espeon finally lost his fight against the Gust. He was blown backwards into the bleachers, hitting them with a loud _THUD_.

"Espeon!" I cried out, snapping out of my stupor. He fell to the ground, his eyes closing.

"Espeon is unable to battle!" yelled the referee.

I stared in shock for several seconds before finally calling back Espeon.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I thought for a minute about what Pokémon to send in. I had a mental debate between Cyndaquil and Pidgey.

_Cyndaquil has more power than Pidgey and has ranged attacks...but I don't know how his speed will match up against Pidgeotto's. Pidgey on the other hand, has more speed and can take the battle to the air...but he's not as powerful as Cyndaquil._

"Trainer! Do you forfeit the match?" asked the referee, pulling me away from my thoughts.

"What? N-no!" I hastily yelled out, my voice cracking once again.

I cleared my throat. "No, I don't. I'm just...deciding what my next Pokémon will be."

"Well, you must make a decision, trainer," he said. "Otherwise Falkner wins by default."

Forced into a quick decision, I went with the Pokémon that put me on as close to an even playing field as possible, at least in my own opinion. "Pidgey, go!" I yelled out, throwing out his Poké Ball.

"Take to the skies!" I yelled out, once again hoping to start off quickly. I hoped that I'd have better luck in an air-to-air battle. "Tackle!"

Pidgey flew towards Pidgeotto, ready to ram into it with his entire body.

"Pidgeotto," Falkner said calmly. "Dodge it."

Pidgeotto nimbly flew out of the way as Pidgey flew right by him. For a brief moment, I once again froze, unable to configure a reasonable counterattack. I quickly found myself in the same situation as before; my Pokémon missing an attack, and then me freezing up.

Noticing my predicament, Pidgey took the battle into his own hands. He banked wide left, before executing a hard right turn, lining himself up to charge Pidgeotto again.

"Pidgeotto, dodge again," Falkner said. I swear I heard him yawn. As Pidgey neared Pidgeotto, it simply dropped down. However, unlike last time, Falkner counterattacked.

"Now, Pidgetto, use Tackle!" Falkner yelled.

I frantically cried out for Pidgey to watch out behind him, but all that came out was a garbled mess of words that could've meant any variety of things to Pidgey. Pidgeotto came up from behind━Pidgey's only real blind spot. Pidgey was knocked out of the air, heading straight down towards the battlefield.

I struggled to get myself together to yell to Pidgey, but no words came out. I watched, helpless, as Pidgey spiraled downwards in a freefall while I stood there, unable to formulate any kind of a command.

Pidgey struggled to do much of anything, still dazed from the force of the attack. However, right as he was about to hit the ground, he managed to muster up enough energy and focus to pull up, and he managed to fly over to me.

I exhaled in relief. He looked up at me, faithfully awaiting my next command.

My brain managed to swing into action. Frantically, I tried to come up with something.

_Tackle didn't work either time. I could try a Sand Attack to try and rattle his Pidgeotto, but most Pidgeotto are unaffected by an attack to their eyes. Then again, it's worth a shot. I doubt Pidgey's Gust would stand up to Pidgeotto's, and that's his only other move._

"Alright, Pidgey," I commanded. "Sand Attack!"

Pidgey brought his wings towards the ground, and flapped them furiously towards Pidgeotto, kicking up sand everywhere. I shielded my eyes, unable to see what was happening for a moment. I heard a cry from Falkner's Pidgeotto, and looked up to see it flailing around wildly, apparently unable to see much at all. The Sand Attack had actually worked.

"Alright, Pidgey!" I cried out in joy. I actually found myself gaining confidence, as my nerves began to leave me. "That's enough! Now hit Pidgeotto with a Tackle!"

For the first time all battle, I noticed Falkner appear to be nervous. He found himself unable to respond as Pidgey rushed towards Pidgeotto, who was still flailing around wildly.

"Pidgeotto, watch out!" Falkner managed to call out to his Pokémon right before impact. But it was too late. Pidgey smashed into Pidgeotto. Sent into a downward spiral, Pidgeotto struggled to get any air under its wings, still flailing wildly due to its lack of sight. It eventually caught itself, but I simply commanded another Tackle attack on the crippled Pokémon. Again, Pidgey made contact.

"Great job!" I yelled out to Pidgey. I heard Frank cheer from the sidelines, too.

I noticed that by now, Pidgeotto, still unable to see, had inadvertently flown away from the battlefield, and was close to the bleachers.

"Pidgey, Gust!" I commanded, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity. Pidgey began vigorously flapping his wings, creating the same windstorm that Pidgeotto had attacked Espeon with. Unable to see it coming, and with Falkner still thrown off guard, Pidgeotto was smacked by the windstorm with full force. Launched backwards into the bleachers, Pidgeotto was knocked out.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle!" said the referee.

Falkner, stunned that I had defeated one of his Pokémon, slowly returned his Pidgeotto to its Poké Ball. For the first time all battle, I stopped shaking for a moment.

"That was clever," Falkner said. "But it won't work again. Hoothoot, go!"

Falkner sent out a Hoothoot. Noticing the short, stubby wings it had, and despite my ever-present nervousness, I couldn't help myself from commenting on its wings. "Can it even fly?"

Immediately, I realized how rude my comment had probably sounded. I had intended it as a joke; of course it could fly. I knew that.

Falkner erupted, and I began to feel even worse about what I had said. "What?! You have the _gall _to ask me that, when you had to resort to a _Sand Attack_ to defeat my prized Pidgeotto?! You sicken me. Hoothoot, Air Slash!"

His Hoothoot sprang into action. It took off into the air, taking one of its wings and slicing it through the air, sending several saw-shaped discs of wind at Pidgey.

Again, I froze. I was still frazzled after what I had said to Falkner, and felt terrible. Thankfully, though, I managed to spring into action just in time.

"Pidgey, climb!" I yelled. He managed to ascend just before the discs sliced through the air where he had just been standing, but as I watched in horror, Hoothoot appeared right in front of him.

I looked at Falkner, and saw that he had a cruel smile on his face. "Hoothoot, finish this. Peck!"

Both Pidgey and I watched, petrified, as Hoothoot's beak turned white and it pecked Pidgey several times with it. After several attacks, Pidgey lost all his energy and began to fall towards the ground, swirls in his eyes.

Mercifully, I returned him to his Poké Ball before he hit the ground.

"Pidgey is unable to battle. The challenger has lost both of his Pokémon. Falkner is the winner!" the judge yelled out.

I sighed. My first Gym battle, and I had lost. To make matters worse, I had crumbled under pressure, and had even insulted the Gym Leader. I don't think it could've gone any worse. Embarrassed, I walked up to shake Falkner's hand.

Hoothoot was sitting on Falkner's shoulder, glaring at me with a look of pure hatred. Clearly, he was just as offended as his trainer was at my rude comment. As I stuck out my hand to Falkner, he refused to return the handshake.

Desperately, I pleaded with him. "Look, man, I'm really sorry. I-I didn't mean what I said about your Hoothoot. It came out wrong, and━"

Falkner cut me off. "I want you out of my Gym, now," he told me sternly. "And don't come back until you have a proper apology for both me and my Pokémon."

Shamefully, I dropped my head. "OK," I said weakly. "But I just want you to know I'm really━"

"I said _get out_!" Falkner yelled at me. I turned and walked away, the embarrassment too much for me.

Frank ran up to Falkner and tried to help my case. "Look, Falkner. He's a good guy, I swear. He just━"

"I don't care what you have to say. You're his friend, and in my eyes, you're just as at fault as he is. Now get out!" Falkner yelled at Frank.

Stunned and embarrassed, just like I was, Frank hurried over and joined me in the elevator. In silence, we descended back to the ground floor. As we stepped out, I realized that I had begun shaking again, but this time I found myself unable to stop.

Slowly, I walked over to the receptionist, trying to keep calm.

"Could I have a rematch, scheduled? Maybe a couple of days from now?" I asked her, my voice trembling.

I figure the receptionist dealt with people upset about their losses often, because she didn't even glance up at me despite the immense trembling in my voice.

She scrolled through a page on her computer. "Sure. How does two o'clock sound?"

Quietly, I replied. "Sure. And, can you put that under Bob? I don't think Falkner would take the challenge if it was under my real name."

Surprised, the receptionist looked at me with confusion. "Uh, sure. May I ask why?"

"No," I said, turning and walking away. Frank followed.

* * *

><p>I collapsed in my bed at the Pokémon Center, emotionally drained after my battle with Falkner. Across the room, Frank sat on the edge of the other bunk bed. I had offered him the option of staying with me at the Pokémon Center, and he had agreed. I could tell he was concerned about me.<p>

"Don't beat yourself up," he said, trying to console me. "It was your first Gym battle."

I sighed for about the millionth time that day. "Espeon didn't even last five minutes. And it's all because I choked. I cracked under the pressure, and I couldn't react, and━"

Frank cut me off. "Dude. It was your _first _Gym battle. That's expected of you! You don't honestly think _I _cruised through my battle with Falkner, do you?"

I sat up, staring at him for a moment. "Well, yeah, I guess I kind of did." I said sheepishly.

Frank laughed. "Dude, Falkner was the toughest opponent I've faced yet. I barely scraped out a victory."

I sighed. "Still, I just feel like such a failure. And then after what I said to him..."

Silence fell between us. I was just about to get up to grab a snack from the vending machine in the lobby when Frank jumped out of bed. He ran over towards me, grabbing my arm, and he literally yanked me up and out of bed. "You know what? Come on! I know just what you need!"

He sprinted out of the room, beckoning for me to follow.

Still feeling miserable, I got up, sighing once again. After struggling with myself for a moment, I figured I'd follow Frank and see what he had planned.

Sarcastically, I muttered, "I really do know how to pick my friends, don't I?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>So, where do you guys think Frank is going to take Chris? Feel free to leave a review and guess on where he's being taken. I'd love to hear what everyone's guesses are!


	7. Chapter 7: Continuing in Violet City

**Chapter 7: Continuing in Violet City**

"Where are you taking me?" I yelled out to Frank as he led me through the streets of Violet City, weaving in and out of crowds of confused pedestrians. After several minutes of running, in which I had taken a purse to the stomach and an elbow to the face, Frank stopped. Panting a little bit, I gave him a mean glare, nonverbally saying _This better be worth it_.

Eventually, we turned a corner and came face-to-face with a large pagoda.

"Sprout Tower?" I asked, perhaps a little rudely, as Frank as he led me across a small, wooden bridge that spanned a small lake. I recognized it from my Trainer's Guide.

"Why are you taking me here? This isn't going to help me feel better." I complained. I was still a little mad at him for not letting me mope.

Frank turned around, and looked me in the eye. "Look, man. I know you lost your Gym battle, and I know you let your nerves get the best of you, and you feel bad about all that, but trust me, this will help you feel better. You can take the challenge and take your mind off of what happened."

"Look, Frank, I'm flattered you went out of the way like this for me, but I think that if we just went back to the Pokémon Center, I can just get some R&R, and then I'll be better. I can even prepare for my rematch with Falkner, too," I pleaded. Right now, my idea sounded a lot better to me than taking some challenge at Sprout Tower.

"Chris," Frank said to me. "I've been your friend for a long time. I know how you get sometimes, and I know that just laying around in bed isn't going to make you feel any better. You need to get out into the world and take your mind off things. Then, tomorrow, you can plan for your rematch with Falkner. Trust me."

I sighed. Deep down, despite how much I wanted to mope around and wallow in self-pity, I knew Frank was right.

"Fine. I'll take the challenge," I muttered. "But not because of what you said, but because I was already going to do it anyways and we're already here," I added, defiantly.

Frank smiled. "Good. Now come on, let's get this thing started!"

He ran inside, and I followed.

Frank opened the double doors and gestured for me to step inside. The first thing I noticed inside was the large pillar in the center. It appeared to be made entirely out of wood, but what caught my attention the most was the fact that it was _swaying_.

Several sages were standing around, along with several people who I figured were tourists. One sage in particular approached Frank and I.

"Hello," he said, noticing my fascination with the pillar. "Legend says that that pillar used to be a 100 foot tall Bellsprout."

"That's not possible," Frank told him. "There's no way that a Bellsprout could've been 100 feet tall. They're what, at most 2 feet tall?"

The sage simply smiled. "Well, that's why it's a legend, you see; it's something that these days most people don't believe. I, myself, believe it. But, that's besides the point. I think you two are here for a different reason than to hear about legends. Am I right?"

Frank and I nodded. So far, this visit wasn't exactly making me feel much better.

"Yes. We're here to take the challenge?" Frank asked the sage.

The sage laughed. "Ah, I knew you two weren't ordinary tourists. Well, if you go to the man over there, Jim━yes, he's got a funny name for a sage," he pointed to a sage that was standing near the stairwell to the second floor, "and tell him you'd like to take the challenge, then he'll let you through."

"Can you explain more to us?" Frank asked.

"Nope! Jim will explain everything. Good luck!" he said, shooing us away.

As we walked over towards Jim, I complained to Frank. "I can't believe you're making me do this," I told him sourly.

"Come on, man, it'll be fun!" Frank replied.

"Whatever," I said to him, sulking as we walked.

"Hello, Jim," Frank said as we reached him. "My friend and I would like to take the challenge?"

"Well," Jim said. "Only one of you can take it at a time. The other must wait until the first challenger is finished. Which of you will go?"

Frank and I looked at each other. I was about to say Frank should go, when he interrupted. "Chris, here, he'll do it!"

A surprised look washed over my face, but I went with it, only grumbling a little bit under my breath. "Uh, yeah, I guess I'll do it, Jim," I said, glaring at Frank when Jim turned away for a moment.

"Good," Jim said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, you're only allowed to take two Pokémon with you during the challenge."

_Pokémon! _On the inside, I suddenly got very excited, and felt most of my sourness disappear. _So this'll be a battle challenge, probably. Maybe this wasn't such a mistake after all._

Then I thought back to my embarrassing battle earlier that day with Falkner; and I found my mood dropping again.

I handed over Cyndaquil and Chikorita's Poké Balls. She was finally in full health, and I had nothing against Cyndaquil, but I wanted to train the two Pokémon that I would be using in my rematch with Falkner: Espeon and Pidgey.

"Alright, Chris," Jim said, "The challenge is simple. There are three sages on the floor above; you must battle and defeat all three of them. Above that, on the final floor, is our Elder; defeat him, and you will have earned the prize."

My curiosity got the best of me. "The prize━what is it?"

Jim laughed. "Well, Chris, you'll find _that_ out if you can defeat our Elder. Good luck━you'll need it!"

He then shooed me away and up the I walked up the steps, my mood was once again improved, and I actually got a little excited. When I reached the second floor, there were 3 sages between me and the next stairwell.

The center one stepped forward, sending out his Pokémon━a Bellsprout. "You will battle me first. I am Chow. Next in line are Nico," he pointed towards the sage on his right, "and Jin," he pointed to the sage on his left. "You are only allowed to use one Pokémon per battle, so make your choice wisely. Good luck, trainer. You have the first move."

Noticing the type advantage, I sent out Pidgey, who landed in front of me.

"Alright, Pidgey, here we go! Time to show these guys who's boss! Gust!" I yelled out.

Pidgey took to the air, flapping his wings furiously to create a windstorm. Bellsprout, with its light weight and "root-feet", as I deemed them, was unable to gain any traction, and was immediately blown back into the wall of the temple. I smiled.

It sounds weird, but at that moment, I finally felt my sour mood completely disappear. I guess battles can do that to you. A bad one can bring you down, and a good one can bring you back up again.

"This shouldn't be too difficult, should it, Pidgey?" I asked him. He responded back with a very confident-sounding cry.

Slowly, Chow's Bellsprout stood up. "Vine Whip, Bellsprout!" he commanded.

With surprising speed, Bellsprout reached long vines out of its body, aimed to hit Pidgey.

"Dodge it," I yelled. As Pidgey flew around dodging the vines, they followed him, and he was forced to take evasive action, flying around the entire floor. As Pidgey flew around, something struck my eye.

"Pidgey, circle the pillar!" I called out. Using the central pillar to my advantage, Pidgey circled it, Bellsprout's vines following. Before Chow realized what was happening, Bellsprout's vines had wrapped around the pillar, and were so tangled up that Bellsprout found itself unable to move its vines, or itself, for that matter. Taking advantage of the situation, I ordered a final attack.

"Pidgey, Tackle!"

Pidgey closed in on the now defenseless Bellsprout, finishing it off. Chow returned his defeated Pokémon to its Poké Ball. "That was very clever, Chris. Perhaps you have what it takes to defeat our Elder. But first, there are still two more opponents between you and that goal."

The next two battles were just as easy as the first. Both Nico and Jin utilized Bellsprout. I sent out Espeon for the battle with Nico, hoping to give Pidgey a break, and then I used Pidgey again to take on Jin. Both battles were over just as quickly as my battle with Chow, and although becoming a little fatigued, neither Espeon nor Pidgey sustained any damage whatsoever.

"Well, trainer," Chow said, "you may now pass. But I'm warning you━do not underestimate our Elder. Otherwise, you will not complete the challenge."

_If he's anything like these three, _I thought to myself, _then he won't be too much of a challenge. This is all just empty rhetoric._

But what I found out was that it wasn't.

* * *

><p>"Pidgey, no!" I cried out. I was in the midst of a 2-on-2 battle with the Elder, Li, and already I was finding out how powerful he was. His Bellsprout was on a whole 'nother level than the others I had previously faced━and it had just defeated Pidgey with a Vine Whip, despite the type disadvantage.<p>

Sighing, I returned Pidgey to his Poké Ball. "Espeon, let's go!" I yelled as I threw his Poké Ball.

"_Espee!"_ he cried out, ready for battle as he appeared in front of me.

"Swift!" I immediately commanded. Opening his mouth, Espeon shot out several small stars.

"You know what to do, Bellsprout," Li commanded. During our entire battle, he had remained cool, calm, and collected.

Despite its "root-feet", his Bellsprout began sprinting through the room. I watched in awe as it darted left, right, and left again, even running along the room's wooden walls temporarily. Somehow, it dodged the homing missile-like stars, which crashed into the walls of the room. The entire tower shook as Espeon fired another Swift, forcing the Li's Bellsprout to again dash around the room.

"Ho, ho, ho!" laughed Li. "Now _this_ is a good battle! You are a very worthy challenger."

"Whatever," I grumbled as I tried to figure out how to beat his Bellsprout. "I just hope this tower doesn't collapse around us."

"Oh, don't worry, trainer," said Li, as he began laughing hysterically in his _ho-ho-ho _kind of way, "that's just the tower's way of saying that it's enjoying our battle!"

I struggled to gain my balance while the tower shook. I glanced over at Li, and saw that he was perfectly balanced, the tower's shaking not affecting him in the slightest.

"This was his plan all along," I muttered, slowly realizing what was happening. "Li wanted me to use a move like Swift, which would make contact with the walls when his Bellsprout dodged. He _wanted_ the tower to shake. Well, news flash━I wasn't going to make that mistake again."

"Espeon!" I yelled out. "No more Swift! We're using physical attacks from now on out. And stay away from the walls! Now Quick Attack!"

For a moment, Espeon gave me a quizzical look, as if saying _Stay away from the walls? No Swift? Why?_ But he trusted me, and began chasing after Bellsprout.

The two ran through the room, Bellsprout ran even faster than before, but finally, Espeon managed to land a hit on Bellsprout. Due to its light weight, Bellsprout was launched across the room, smacking into a wall, and causing the entire tower to shake even more. I could only imagine what the tourists and Frank were thinking downstairs.

Not wanting to give Li a chance to regain his composure, I ordered another Swift on the dazed Bellsprout; I knew it wouldn't dodge this time. As it struggled to get up, it was smacked by several of the stars, and fell right back down to the ground.

"Finish with Tackle!" I commanded of Espeon. He ran towards Bellsprout, lowering his shoulder, as he smacked into it with full-force.

His Bellsprout finally finished, Li returned it to its Poké Ball. "I see you figured out my strategy, trainer. Very clever, indeed. But you'll find that my next Pokémon will be just as much of a challenge to you as my Bellsprout. Hoothoot, go!"

My heart stopped when I saw his next Pokémon. A Hoothoot. I flashed back to the morning's battle with Falkner, and the shame and embarrassment I had felt. Just like during my Gym battle, I found myself freezing up.

Noticing that I was thrown off guard by his Hoothoot, Li made his move. "Hoothoot, Peck!"

_No_, I thought to myself. _This is too much deja vu. Taking the challenge here was supposed to make me feel better, not remind of my Gym battle!_

Espeon's loud cry snapped me out of my thoughts. I snapped back to reality, only to see him flying through the air after Hoothoot's Peck attack. He struggled to get back up.

"Espeon!" I yelled out. _No,_ I said to myself. _No, no, no. I will _not _have a repeat of my battle with Falkner. I've got to get it together!_

Li's Hoothoot flew back to him, landing on his outstretched arm. "Now is the defining moment. Either you prove that you have what it takes to defeat me━or you fall. Hoothoot, once more, Peck!"

His Hoothoot took flight off of his shoulder, headed straight towards Espeon.

"Come on, Espeon! Get up!" I cried out, my voice full of desperation. In response, Espeon stirred ever so slightly, one eye opening. We made eye contact, and I found myself calming down. I knew how we could defeat Li.

"Espeon, flip Hoothoot into the wall!" I commanded. Right as Hoothoot was about to reach Espeon, Espeon rolled over from his side onto his back, using his legs to push Hoothoot.

Using Hoothoot's speed and momentum against him, Espeon managed to push Hoothoot straight into the wall. I was forced to duck as it flew over my head. Both Espeon and I prepared for a counter━but none came. Hoothoot was knocked out.

"Whoa," I murmured. "That was quick."

Li chuckled, and approached me as he returned his Hoothoot to its Poké Ball.

"That was very unconventional, indeed," he said. "But I believe you are worthy of the prize. You have completed the challenge, and passed with flying colors, trainer."

"Thank you," I told him. "And the name's Chris."

He reached into his robe, and pulled out a necklace that contained a small, unsubstantial-looking seed. Bowing, he reached out his hand and offered it to me. "You have earned this, Chris."

Cautiously, I took it from him. "Thank you, Li. But, um...what is this?"

Again, he chuckled. "That, my friend, is a Miracle Seed. Do you have any Grass-type Pokémon with you?"

I glanced down at Chikorita's Poké Ball. "Yeah, a Chikorita. Why?"

Li smiled. "Because a Miracle Seed powers up Grass-type attacks. I assume your Chikorita knows some?"

I scratched the back of my head, a little embarrassed. "Well, yeah. Only one, though. And, she's not very strong yet."

"Don't worry about that," Li said. "In due time, your Chikorita will come to make great use of the Miracle Seed, I am sure."

He glanced at his watch. "That is all for now, though, Chris. I must leave you there."

Li bowed, and awkwardly, I bowed back. "It has been a pleasure, sir."

* * *

><p>After about a half hour of waiting outside of the Sprout Tower, Frank appeared. His head was down.<p>

"What's wrong, man?" I asked him. "Did you lose?"

"Yeah," he muttered. "I overworked Cyndaquil, and by the time we got to the Elder, he was too exhausted to fight. We got our butts kicked."

"Sorry to hear that, man," I said. For a moment, I almost laughed. We had entered Sprout Tower with Frank trying to make me feel better; now, our roles were reversed.

"It was hard for us too, if that makes you feel any better. We didn't roll over the Elder either."

Frank lifted his head. "Enough about me. Are you feeling better?" he asked, putting aside his own emotions for a moment.

I smiled. "Yeah, actually. Turns out some battles were all I needed to take my mind off━" I hesitated for a moment, recalling my Gym battle with Falkner, before picking back up again. "━my Gym battle. Now I'm ready to train and come up with a strategy to beat Falkner. I've got all of tomorrow to prepare, and I plan to make the most of it!"

"That's good," Frank said, still a little dejected. "But, if you don't mind, I think we should get back to the Pokémon Center. It's getting late," he added, pointing out the dusk sky around us.

"Yeah, you're right. We should get back."

* * *

><p>The rest of that day and the next flew by quickly. After our bout at Sprout Tower, Frank and I returned to the Pokémon Center, immediately collapsing on our beds after the long day. I spent the entire next day training Espeon and Pidgey, hoping to get them fine-tuned for our rematch with Falkner, while I also formulated a strategy based on the events that had transpired during our first battle.<p>

After our hard day of training, my Pokémon and I had spent the night resting up again in the Pokémon Center. For some reason that Frank had refused to divulge, he had to immediately head to the Ruins of Alph to meet his parents. As such, I was forced to face my rematch with Falkner alone.

With a mixture of nervousness and excitement, I woke up on the day of my rematch, and went through my normal morning routine. The day moved at a snail's pace, until finally it was nearing 2 o'clock, and I left for the Gym.

Briskly, I walked to the Gym, forcing myself to stay confident. I had everything worked out, and if my strategies worked, I'd win for sure. I approached the Gym doors.

"You can do this," I muttered to myself, as I entered the Gym.

Once inside, I approached the receptionist. "Hi," I said. "I'm here for my rematch with Falkner."

The receptionist looked up. "Oh yes, I remember you."

Checking her computer, a quizzical look dawned on her face. "It says here that 'Bob' is scheduled for the 2 o'clock...but you're Chris, aren't you? I remember you from a couple of days ago."

Sheepishly, I cleared up the confusion. "Yeah...me and Falkner had a bit of an 'incident'. I'd rather not talk about it."

Awkwardly, I proceeded to finish up with the receptionist, and entered the elevator.

_You can do this,_ I repeated to myself as the elevator ascended to the battlefield. _Just stay calm, and don't freeze up. You spent all of yesterday training for this━you can do it._ The elevator doors opened. Slowly, I stepped out.

"You again?!" blurted out an angry, but familiar, voice. I turned and saw Falkner standing in the box on his half of the battlefield. "I'm supposed to be facing a trainer named Bob! Not _you_."

"Look, I'm really sorry about━" Falkner cut me off.

"I already said I don't want an apology," he managed through gritted teeth. "And where's your little friend?"

"Oh, uh, Frank? He can't be here at the moment," I explained. I didn't need to explain why. Not to _this_ jerk.

"Whatever," Falkner said. "I don't even know why I asked."

Man. This guy makes no sense. Either way, I was ready for my battle.

Slowly, taking the time to gather my confidence, I walked towards my own box. "What do you say we get this battle started?" I asked Falkner.

Despite an obvious internal battle, I knew Falkner was obligated to take my challenge; it was his job. "Fine," he said. "But _only_ because I have to. And besides, it'll be fun to crush you again. I'll even start with the Pokémon that you insulted. Hoothoot, go!"

At seeing his choice of Pokémon, I winced. Not exactly who I wanted to see first, but nonetheless, I forced myself to keep my composure.

"Pidgey, go!" I yelled as I threw out his Poké Ball.

While the referee explained the rules of the battle to us, again, for it was obligatory, Hoothoot and Falkner gave Pidgey and I a stare that probably could've cut through steel. It was the same format as last time━2-on-2. When the referee was finished, Falkner spoke. "_Regretfully_, I give you the first move, _challenger_." Apparently he wasn't going to refer to me by my proper name during the battle.

I took the chance to begin implementing my strategy. "Pidgey, circle Hoothoot! Just like we planned!"

My goal was simple: Entice Hoothoot to chase Pidgey around. Pidgey could fly around with more ease than Hoothoot; it's simple physics. Pidgey has larger wings, and thus, expends less energy than Hoothoot. If all went according to plan, we'd strike when Hoothoot became fatigued.

I knew Falkner couldn't resist chasing after Pidgey. As Pidgey circled, diving in and then popping back out, Hoothoot and Falkner got closer and closer to cracking and going after Pidgey. Add in the fact that Falkner was very emotionally charged during this battle, and within only a couple of circlings, Falkner cracked.

"That's it. Peck, Hoothoot! Show this _challenger _who's boss!" Falkner yelled.

"Stick to the plan, Pidgey!" I urged, hoping he'd stay disciplined.

And so, Pidgey flew around the battlefield, chased diligently by Hoothoot. Whenever he would pull away from Hoothoot, he would slow down to make sure Hoothoot and Falkner kept chasing him; they had to think they could catch him.

After what felt like an eternity, at which point I had begun to worry if it would ever tire, Hoothoot began to slow down. It was covered in sweat, and was visibly fatigued. I now had the perfect opportunity to strike.

"Now, Pidgey! Drop and use Tackle from behind!" I commanded.

Again, Pidgey did as we practiced. He ceased flight just long enough to drop down, then came in behind Hoothoot, who by that point had been too tired to stop in time, and had flown right past Pidgey, who had dropped beneath him. Climbing, Pidgey then charged Hoothoot, smacking the surprised Pokémon from behind.

Due to its fatigue, Hoothoot fainted upon impact, only managing to give out a faint cry. As it fell towards the ground, Falkner mercifully returned it to its Poké Ball. Pidgey flew back to me, landing calmly on my outstretched arm. Although he probably looked fine from Falkner's view, I could hear him breathing heavily━Hoothoot wasn't the only one who had gotten fatigued during the fight.

"Hoothoot is unable to battle," said the referee.

Slowly, Falkner realized what I had done. "I see," he said. "You tired out Hoothoot so that he'd be weak and vulnerable to attack. Well, that won't work on my prized Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto, go!"

He sent out his prized, and most powerful, Pokémon━Pidgeotto. Next to me, I heard Pidgey whimper for a moment at the prospect of facing Pidgeotto again. We had barely squeaked by last time, forced to resort to Sand Attack. But I knew that wouldn't work twice. Falkner would be ready for it.

Taking a deep breath, I sent Pidgey back to the battlefield. Although he was tired, I hoped he could finish the battle. After all, I wanted to keep Espeon out of the fight for as long as possible, to give Pidgey a chance to tire out Pidgeotto as much as he could.

"Alright, Pidgey. Let's go. Gust!" I yelled out.

My first move was a risky one. Pidgeotto would most likely overpower Pidgey's Gust with its own, but I had no other good alternatives. Without a Sand Attack to block Pidgeotto's vision, I doubted Pidgey could do much against it. Pidgeotto was faster and physically stronger.

Falkner laughed. "A weak little Pidgey like yours, that has yet to overpower a Pokémon on pure power alone, and you think its _Gust_ will defeat my Pidgeotto? Think again, _challenger_. Pidgeotto, Gust!"

Instantly, Pidgeotto whipped up a windstorm that dwarfed Pidgey's. Quickly, Pidgey was overpowered and knocked backwards, haphazardly trying to keep himself in flight.

Shielding my eyes from the wind, I called out for Pidgey to stay strong. He struggled to keep himself under control as the violent winds whipped around him. My hat even blew off, although I managed to catch it.

Finally, the windstorm stopped, and Pidgey managed to fly back towards me.

"I figured as much," I muttered, pulling out Pidgey's Poké Ball. "Pidgey, return."

I eyed my next Poké Ball thoughtfully for a moment, before sending him out. "Espeon, go!"

Falkner laughed even harder than before. "_Espeon_, again?! I hope you're not hoping for a repeat performance. Because it did _so_ well last time!"

I gritted my teeth; so did Espeon. I knew we would probably face some trash talk and rude words from Falkner, but that was really rude. Like, _man this guy's a Gym Leader?_ type of rude.

"Espeon, keep your cool!" I pleaded with him, as I noticed him begin to walk towards Falkner, crying out angrily. "Focus on the battle! You defeat Pidgeotto, and we win!"

I was surprised at how much Espeon was being affected by Falkner; usually he had a strong grasp on his emotions, but this time━well, not so much. I had expected myself to lose my cool quicker than my best Pokémon.

A cruel smile crept onto Falkner's face. "Ah, losing your cool a little bit? _Real_ champions don't lose their cool. But obviously _you're_ not a real champion. Although, I knew that _before_ we even started battling today."

It took every ounce of my willpower to hold my tongue and keep my composure. I had worked so hard to not freeze up━but I hadn't prepared for Falkner to be this...this...malicious.

"Espeon, Swift!" I yelled out, hoping to take away the focus from Falkner's incendiary words. Hopefully, by forcing Falkner to command his Pidgeotto, he would quiet down a bit.

Espeon shot small stars out of his mouth, which homed in on Pidgeotto. During our first battle, I hadn't had a chance to utilize the attack, due to Espeon's early knockout. But as I had outlined a plan the day before, I realized how much Swift would help. No physical attack from Espeon would hit Pidgeotto; it would simply take to the skies. But a ranged attack, like Swift's homing stars, could possibly deal some major damage.

Upon Falkner's command, Pidgeotto took to the sky, but to no avail, as the stars homed in and impacted right on the small of Pidgeotto's back. It let out a short cry of pain, and temporarily began to fall, before catching flight again.

"It's going to take more than that if you want to beat Pidgeotto," Falkner commented. "Now Pidgeotto, Gust!"

"Espeon, just like we rehearsed! The wall!" I cried out.

Espeon made eye contact with me, nodded, and sprinted toward the wall about 20 yards behind me. He flattened himself against it, taking away the possibility of Gust's windstorm knocking him off his feet like last time. Pidgeotto was forced to give up the attack.

"Clever," Falkner snarled, his anger rising even more at my seemingly perfect response to his every move. "But you're going to need to stand and fight if you want to beat me, not run and hide."

"Who said anything about running and hiding?" I said, smiling to Falkner. "Espeon, Quick Attack!"

Espeon sprinted towards Pidgeotto, but just like last time, Pidgeotto simply climbed through the air.

"Follow it, Espeon!" I commanded. "Then Psybeam!"

This was the riskiest part of our entire plan. I knew that Espeon wouldn't be able to fire a long-range Psybeam, but if he could get close enough━like by jumping━Psybeam had a chance to stay strong over the shortened distance _and_ retain all its power. But, Psybeam still hadn't been mastered, and as such, I wasn't be completely sure that my plan would work. And, there was the whole aspect of landing the attack.

Surprised by my move, Pidgeotto was caught off guard by a Psybeam from no more than 5 yards away. It was smacked right in the face by the attack, but managed to stay aloft.

Espeon, on the other hand, began falling towards the ground. My heart stopped as I watched him fall, hoping he could land properly. We'd practiced his landings, but like with the Psybeam, we weren't sure Espeon would be successful.

Time seemed to stop. If Espeon botched the landing, he'd take a massive amount of damage, and would be an easy picking for Pidgeotto, at which point I'd be forced to turn to Pidgey, where I'd be at a huge disadvantage.

Espeon's eyes were filled with panic as he neared the ground, and his limbs flailed.

_No!_ I cried out in my head. _He's not going to make it! We're done! All that work for nothing!_

But somehow, miraculously, Espeon managed to gain control of himself, managing to execute a perfect landing.

A tidal wave of relief washed over me. "Yes, Espeon, yes!" I cried out.

Falkner coughed. "Excuse me, challenger, but you still have a battle to finish. One that is not scored upon the quality of a landing, in case you were wondering."

"Whatever, Falkner," I said. "It's time for me to finish this up. Espeon, Swift again!"

Espeon fired the stars from his mouth once again, straight at Pidgeotto. Apparently not expecting me to respond so quickly after his snide comment, Falkner was unable to call out a command to his Pidgeotto as the stars neared, and Pidgeotto was hit and immediately knocked out.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle," said the referee as Falkner returned Pidgeotto to its Poké Ball. "Since Falkner has lost both of his Pokémon, the challenger, Chris, is the winner."

For a moment, I stood in shock. Espeon came running over, excited, but I just stood there, in shock.

"Oh my goodness_,_" I repeated over and over to myself. "I just won my first Gym Badge!"

I was finally brought back to reality by a cough from Falkner. He was standing right in front of me.

"Oh," I said in surprise. I hadn't noticed him approaching, I was so excited.

"Just take it," Falkner said, sticking out his hand, which contained a small, metal badge shaped like a pair of wings. "You've, uh, earned it, I guess."

For a moment, he actually seemed like he was trying to be nice.

I stood in awe for a moment, before reaching into my backpack and getting out my badge case. "No way," I muttered as I took the badge from Falkner and put it into the first of eight depressions in the case, one for each of the eight Johto Gym Badges.. "My very first Gym Badge!"

"Yeah, yeah, have your moment," Falkner said under his breath. Clearly he still harbored some negative feelings towards me.

"But," he added, his voice turning stern, "don't you _ever _go around insulting Gym Leaders, like you did to me. You don't want _any_ of us as your enemies."

_Was that a threat?_ Either way, I ignored his advice. I was too excited, too in-the-moment to worry about anything. As I left the Gym, with a still-miffed but somewhat nicer Falkner in my wake, I found that not too much mattered to me at that moment. After all, I just won my first Gym Badge.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>AN: <strong>****Wow! Longest chapter yet! Anyways, hoped you guys enjoyed! And tell me, what do you think of Falkner's last advice? Is it a foreboding of things to come? Or not?**

Oh, and since I used some of the "actual" names for the sages, I'd like to point this out for precautionary measures: I do not own any of the characters (barring the OC's of Chris, Frank, Jim, the receptionist, and kind of the referee, depending on if you watch the anime or not), and all are creations of and are owned by the Pokémon Company and Satoshi Tajiri.


	8. Chapter 8: A Spry New Friend

**Chapter 8: A Spry New Friend**

"_Yawnnn_."

I blinked my eyes a few times as I sat in my bed at the Pokémon Center. Outside, Violet City was dark. The sun just barely peeked over the horizon. The alarm clock in the room said _5:57 AM. _Glancing around, I noticed that my Pokémon were all still asleep: Pidgey was perched on a bedpost of the top bunk of the bunk bed across the room, but awake━he normally doesn't sleep very much; Chikorita was sprawled out on the bottom bunk, directly across from me; looking up, I saw the tip of Espeon's still tail laying over the end of the top bunk above me; and across the room, on the same bunk that Pidgey was currently perched on, was Cyndaquil, snoring.

One of the advantages of traveling alone (and having unevolved, smaller Pokémon) is that everyone can sleep outside of their Poké Balls and still be comfortable.

Getting up from bed, I reached above me and woke up Espeon; then I walked over to wake up Chikorita. When I nudged her on the side, instead of waking up, she reactively kicked out one of her back legs━catching me right in the gut.

Instantly, I hunched over, clutching my stomach and gasping for air. Stumbling backwards, I landed on my own bed. Espeon peeked at me from above, his eyes full of concern.

"_Espee?_"

I struggled to vocalize the words "I'll be fine, I only got the wind knocked out of me, just give me a minute," so instead I gave him a thumbs up. He didn't seem persuaded though, probably because I was still gasping for breath, struggling to breathe. Finally, after about a minute or so of labored breathing, I managed to recover to a somewhat normalness of breathing.

"I'm fine, Espeon, don't worry," I said, explaining the situation to him, now that I could talk again. "I just got the wind knocked out of me. I don't know all the science behind it, but basically what just happened is what happens when you get a hard force to the stomach or back."

He stared at me, still confused. I figured I'd put it in terms that were a little easier to understand. "I'm fine," I said, faking a laugh in order to show him I was fine and ease his concern. "So don't worry about it."

Espeon still stared at me as I attempted to wake up Chikorita again, a little worried about his trainer. _He'll figure out that I'm OK sooner or later,_ I thought to myself.

This time, I was smarter in waking up Chikorita; I kept my distance, gingerly tapping her on the shoulder to wake her up. The moment I touched her, I jumped back, ready to avoid another kick. Fortunately, none came.

"_Cheeka?_" Chikorita asked me, looking a little angry at being woken up this early. Her eyes were only half-open. She stretched, before repeating her question again.

"_Cheeka?_"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Chikorita, you know I can't understand you," I said as I leaned over to pet her, hoping to calm her down. I heard Espeon call out from behind me.

"_Espee! Espeon!_"

I turned, and saw him pointing at the alarm clock, which now read _6:01 AM_.

"Oh," I said, realizing what Chikorita had asked me. "I don't know why I got up this early, to tell you the truth. I just woke up and figured we could start the day a little earlier than usual. Is that OK with you?"

Chikorita muttered something disapproving under her breath. But when I called her out on it, she simply acted like she didn't say anything. I waved her off. _It's too early for your sass,_ I thought to myself. _So I'll let this one slide._

Cyndaquil was rather difficult to wake up. I had to nudge him several times before he finally woke up.

"You were snoring again," I joked to him. His head dropped and he looked crestfallen, and I instantly felt bad that I had mentioned it.

"Chikorita was snoring even louder than you were, though," I lied, hoping to make him feel better. Cyndaquil raised his head, and his face lit up with laughter. Chikorita, on the other hand, looked appalled. She turned her head away from us, defiantly, and lifted her chin as Cyndaquil continued to chuckle; her signature _whatever_ look.

I left the two to calm down as I looked up at Pidgey, who was trying to catch some sleep again. I've gotten used to his rather odd sleeping patterns; he sleeps for a few minutes, then wakes up for a few more, then he goes back to sleep.

"Wake up, Pidgey," I said gently. His eyes instantly perked open; Pidgey, along with many other aviary Pokémon, slept with half of their brain still active, enabling them to be prepared for a predator to attack. With mountainous Pidgey, I know this is especially crucial to protecting their unborn hatchlings from wild Sneasel.

With everyone now awake, I took the time to get myself ready. "Espeon, I'm jumping into the shower," I said, grabbing a towel and my usual clothes, fresh from the Center's laundry room. "Hold down the fort while I'm gone."

"_Espee,_" he said, acknowledging my command. As I walked into the bathroom, I could hear faint sounds of Espeon trying to calm down Cyndaquil and Chikorita, who were starting to argue _very_ loudly due to the fact that I had brought up Chikorita snoring.

"Why did I get those two started?" I asked myself as I closed the bathroom door. Then I waved myself off. "Whatever. It's Espeon's problem for now."

* * *

><p>When I came out of the bathroom, fully-dressed and ready to start the day, I expected to find the room in shambles, with Cyndaquil and Chikorita fighting and Espeon trying to calm them both down, Pidgey trying in vain to back him up and get things calmed down.<p>

Instead, I found Espeon leading Cyndaquil, Chikorita, and Pidgey through some sort of a training session. They were all jogging in place, apparently being run through some kind of cardio workout.

"Wow," I said, impressed. Espeon turned and noticed me, and everyone immediately stopped what they were doing upon seeing me. Espeon looked up at me, unsure if I was going to compliment him or reprimand him.

"Great job, Espeon," I said, causing him to smile. "I should leave you in charge more often."

"_Cheeka!_"

I adjusted my gaze until it settled on Chikorita. She stomped her foot down and began sulking, apparently not happy that she hadn't been praised for participating in the unsanctioned training session.

"Come on, Chikorita," I said, scolding her. "You can't be so jealous of everyone. Next time, if you come up with a great idea like Espeon did, then _you_ can get all the praise. Until then, there's no praise for you."

That shut her up.

* * *

><p>I stood in the doorway to the Pokémon Center's cafeteria; not a soul was to be found, except for a lone worker. Outside, the sun was barely visible over the horizon, its rays shining through the empty streets. The wall clock said <em>6:45 AM<em>.

_No wonder no one's here,_ I thought. _It's only 6:45 in the morning. _

"Man, I got up _early_ today," I commented aloud.

Chikorita, who, along with all of my other Pokémon, was at my side, looked up at me and huffed, still a little cranky both at being woken up early _and _at being reprimanded before 7 AM. I think she set a new record this morning, for the earliest time that she's ever been reprimanded.

I waved her off, and continued over to the breakfast counter. That's the one thing that I like about urban Pokémon Centers: the breakfast buffet! They have everything you could hope for: waffle makers, Moo-Moo milk, eggs, cereals, berry smoothies, and tons of other things. I took a fair share of waffles, eggs, and some Moo-Moo milk.

I carried my tray of food over to a small table by the windows, and was immediately pestered by my Pokémon; they hadn't been fed yet.

"Oops!" I said to myself, realizing my mistake. "One moment, guys!"

I hurried back to the breakfast counter, and bought a small bag of food. Sadly, the food at Pokémon Centers isn't free, so I have to use my trainer card to pay for it; but at least the rooms are free! I filled up two of the bowls on the ground at my table: each table in Pokémon Center cafeterias is complemented by food bowls bolted into the ground, perfect for trainers to use to feed their Pokémon.

I broke my Pokémon up into groups of two, and made sure _not_ to put Cyndaquil and Chikorita together. Not that I need to explain why.

As my Pokémon and I ate, fellow trainers began to drift into the cafeteria; a few at first, and then more and more. I hadn't beaten the rush hour by _too_ much time.

I sized most of them up to be novices like me, but occasionally some rather grizzled-looking veterans came in. What they were doing around Violet City, and not up near Mt. Silver (or pretty much anywhere _but_ this part of Johto), I didn't know.

Back to the food, though: the Violet City Pokémon Center has the best food that I've eaten so far; it's not great, but for Pokémon Center food it's good.

Just as I started on the last waffle of my stack, a young boy, maybe fourteen or fifteen at most, sat down across from me. A little surprised, I stopped eating and looked up. The boy had short but curly brown hair, along with glasses and a couple of freckles. The most defining feature of him was his height; I estimated him to be only about 5'3" or 5'4", which, compared to my 6' frame, is very short.

"What's up?" I asked. After I said it, I realized it had come out kind of rude. Thankfully, the boy didn't seem to notice.

"Sorry for interrupting, but I just couldn't help but notice your Espeon there. That's pretty cool━you two must be really close," the boy said as he began to go to work on his own breakfast. "I'm Nick, by the way."

He stuck out his hand for a handshake, and I returned it. "I'm Chris. Yeah, Espeon and I are really close. I had him for years as an Eevee. He evolved pretty early on in my travels; we were just that close that after only a few battles he evolved. Of course, I haven't been on the road that long anyways, but yeah━we're really close."

"So how many badges do you have? I mean, you _are _a trainer, right? Or are you just traveling around?" Nick asked, on the edge of his seat, excited to hear my story.

_Boy_, I thought to myself. _This kid definitely needs to calm down; pestering me with all these questions and stuff. I barely even know him. Then again, though, I don't want to be rude; after all, look what happened with Falkner. Just be nice to him._

"Nah, I'm a trainer," I said, pulling out my badge case and showing the boy my Zephyr Badge. His eyes widened at the gleaming piece of metal.

"That's so _cool_!" he cried out, causing several trainers around to look over disapprovingly at the racket. I noticed this, and quickly shushed Nick.

"Thanks," I said after Nick had quieted down, finishing up the last of my food. "Be back in a second."

I took my tray over to the trash, and when I returned, Nick was sitting on the ground, petting Espeon. Nick saw me approaching and quickly jumped back up, hoping I hadn't seen him.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "Espeon loves being petted. See?"

I gestured towards Espeon, who was nudging Nick's hand with his nose. "He _wants_ you to pet him. Go ahead."

A huge grin came over Nick's face. He nearly fell, he got out of his chair so quickly to sit back down next to Espeon. Soon enough, Chikorita was also nudging Nick's hand. Before he knew what was happening, he was surrounded by all of my Pokémon, each vying for attention from the boy.

"They're all so _cool_!" he cried, again causing people to stare. For some reason, I found that I didn't care that half the room was looking at us. In fact, I even started laughing, as Chikorita managed to knock Nick over, she had been pushing him so much.

"I think they like you, too," I said, smiling.

Nick continued to play with my Pokémon for a little bit, as I worked on finishing drinking my Moo-Moo milk. His face makes him look like he's fourteen or fifteen, but with his small size and the way he acts, he comes across as only twelve or so. I was tempted to ask Nick how old he was, but I felt a little awkward asking him that after we'd only just met.

I felt a feathered wing rub up against my leg. "Oh, hi Pidgey," I said, looking down as he sat on the floor next to me.

"Don't you want to play with Nick?" I asked.

Pidgey shook his head. Apparently Nick has too much energy for him. Even Espeon was starting to distance himself from Nick, who was currently making faces with Chikorita. Cyndaquil was jumping around in the background, trying to get Nick to play with him, but his attention was solely on Chikorita; and she was loving _every_ second of it.

I took another sip of my Moo-Moo milk, and realized it was all gone. Sadly, looking outside, I figured it was time to start to wrap things up here; I didn't want to spend too much time at the Pokémon Center today. Getting on the road towards your second Gym battle is just too alluring to keep you in one place, I'll tell you.

"So, Nick," I said, hoping to draw him away from playtime without actually playing 'bad cop' and asking him to stop. "You're a trainer, just like me, right?"

"Well, yeah, technically," Nick answered, suddenly avoiding my gaze, as if he was embarrassed. "But, well, I don't have a Pokémon yet…"

"You'll get one soon, though, right?" I asked. Nick nodded. "So are you going to get a Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile?" I asked, unable to resist the urge to pry.

"Actually, I'm not going to get a starter Pokémon," Nick said sadly, dropping his head to stare at the floor. "My parents said we couldn't afford to get one."

He looked like he was about to cry, and I instantly felt terrible for bringing it up. Of course not everyone can get a starter from Professor Elm. They cost money. Why hadn't I thought of that?

I found myself at a loss for words, and a long and obvious silence fell between us. I'm not very good at this kind of stuff━people being sad and me having to make them feel better, I mean. This is really Frank's forte. I found myself wishing he were here.

As the silence drew on, I found myself searching for something━anything━to say to Nick.

"So, you said you're getting a Pokémon. From who?" I ventured.

"I'm getting a Pokémon from my uncle," Nick said, still staring at the floor.

Finally, I found an opportunity to make Nick feel better. "So, which Pokémon is he going to give you?"

"I don't know, he said it's a surprise," said Nick.

"Well, what do you _think_ it'll be?" I asked. Nick looked up, feeling a little better, now that I was showing interest in him.

"Probably a Water-type. My uncle's a fisherman."

_I wish I had a Water-type,_ I thought to myself, a little jealous of Nick.

"Well, that's cool, right?" I said, trying to mask my jealousy; thankfully Nick is rather...oblivious.

He shrugged half-heartedly, his head still down. "I guess so."

"Dude, I wish _I_ could get my hands on a Water-type," I said. "It'd really round out my team."

"Really?" Nick asked. He stared up at me, his eyes desperate for approval. "You think Water Pokémon are that cool?"

I found myself having to reassure the boy, which made uncomfortable again.

"Sure," I said. "I think Water-type Pokémon are really cool, as well as very powerful."

The biggest smile I've ever seen formed on Nick's face. _This kid really looks up to me,_ I thought. _Figuratively _and _literally._

"My uncle has a _ton_ of Water-types!" Nick cried out, visibly excited. "Since he's a fisherman, and all. Plus, he has a ton from when he was a trainer!"

"Your uncle was a trainer?" I asked, unable to withhold my curiosity. "So he challenged the Gyms?"

Nick's grin drooped into a frown. Guess I brought up a sore subject. "He _tried_. But, he only got 4 badges, then it got too difficult for him, and he struggled to get any more. He never finished his journey. He says it doesn't matter to him, and that he's happy he got to at least live some of his dream, but, I can tell that he's lying. He's sad he never got to the Silver Conference."

That really struck a chord with me. _What if that happens to me? What if I'm doomed to that fate? To live out half of my dream━4 badges━only to stall out and fail. Then what? How will I be able to live with myself then? My whole life, my dream, my goal, my motivation, has been to get to the Silver Conference, and win. But what life is there for me if I fail? It's very likely; so many start out like me, right now: happy, go-lucky, feeling invincible. Then they get to the tougher Gyms, and they can't take it. Only so many make it to the Silver Conference; and only one trainer wins it all. I struggled with the first Gym━against a rookie Leader of what is widely-considered to be the weakest of all the Gyms, next to Azalea Town. How can I keep up with the best of the best; like Clair? Or Jasmine? Or Pryce? _

Nick snapped his fingers, jarring me from my thoughts. "What?" I asked.

"I said," Nick began. I noticed he was looking better; apparently he had recovered from his gloom while I was lost in thought. "Where are you heading next? You have the Violet City Gym badge already. So what's next? Azalea? Goldenrod? Ecruteak?"

Still a little confused, I managed to get together an answer. "I don't know. Either Goldenrod or Azalea; definitely not Ecruteak yet."

Nick pulled out a small, folded up piece of paper from his pocket. He opened it up, revealing a slightly worn, but up-to-date, map of the Johto region.

"My uncle told me that Azalea Town would be my best bet after Violet City," Nick said, pointing towards it on the map, tracing a route from Violet City. "Since it's located pretty far south, and it's kind of out of the way from the other Gyms. Than I could head north again to Goldenrod. Get what I'm saying?"

I took a moment to think. "Yeah, yeah, I understand. Because if I head to Goldenrod first, then I have to go to Azalea Town anyways, and it's down then back up again, which kind of feels like a waste. Not going to Azalea━but covering the same ground twice. You know? Plus, it'd be good practice to go to the easier Gym first, right?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah, I get it. I feel the same way. I'd rather head south from here━Route 32 and such━and then from Azalea Town up north through Ilex Forest and Route 34, instead of going down Route 34 and Ilex Forest only to return through them again. I guess we're similar in that way," Nick added, laughing.

"Yeah, I guess we━" I was cut short by a ring from Nick's Pokégear.

He looked down at his Pokégear, confused. "Who would be calling me at this hour━oh," he said, presumably seeing the caller ID. "Give me a second."

Nick walked away, talking into his Pokégear. Left alone with the map, I began to study the route to Azalea Town.

_It's longer than I thought. That'll take me, what: two or three weeks? If I travel quickly? I guess I should stock up on food and supplies, then, and━_

"Hey, Chris?" I heard Nick ask. I looked up, and saw him holding the Pokégear into his chest. "I have to go meet my uncle. To get my first Pokémon!" He grinned as he said the last part.

I waved him off. "That's fine! Go and get it. I hope it's a nice one, too!"

Nick grinned even louder, still holding the Pokégear to his chest. I tried to fold up the map for him━and found myself failing miserably. Nick took over, and folded it up quickly and smoothly on his first try, tucking it into a pocket on his backpack.

"My, uh, uncle taught me," he said sheepishly. We stood there for a moment, neither of us ready to say good-bye, when we heard an electronic voice yelling.

"Nick? Nick? You still there?!"

Nick looked down at his Pokégear, which was still flat against his chest. "Shoot! Sorry uncle!" he said, putting it back to his ear. "I got busy for a moment. But I'm back now."

I waved good-bye to my newfound friend, returning my Pokémon to their Poké Balls and leaving the cafeteria for my room. Once in my room, the clock showed _7:27 AM_.

"I made good time," I commented to myself. "I've got plenty of time to pack and get resupplied, now! Next stop, Azalea Town!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Sorry for the long hiatus in between chapters; I had a bit of writer's block. But, I have some very good news! I've rewritten Chapter 1, and I'm working on rewriting Chapters 2 and 3! To be honest, they were pretty poor works, and I've wanted to rewrite them basically ever since I first posted them and got some pointers from the community. Plus, I also changed some things around (nothing that has a major effect on the story thus far, but down the road it might), but nonetheless if you will be following this story I suggest that you go back and read over Chapter 1 (as well as 2 and 3, when they're posted). Chapter 1 is the only one that I've managed to rewrite so far, but Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 should be rewritten and reposted within the next few days (hopefully), or whenever Chapter 8 is posted.


End file.
